1. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on two agenda items that is progress in the renovation of the Africa hall at the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa and renovation work at the conference services facilities at the United Nations office at Nairobi.

2. Our group thank Mr. Chandramauli Ramanatha, Controller and Assistant Secretary General for introducing the progress reports on the construction projects of ECA and UNON. We also thank Mr. Abdullah Bachar Bong, Chair of the ACABQ for presenting their respective reports.

3. Taking this opportunity, we express our deepest gratitude to the Government of Ethiopia and Kenya as host countries of ECA and UNON respectively for their continued support to the work for facilitating the implementation of these projects.

ECA

4. One ECA, We thank the states of Ethiopia and Mali for their contributions and Switzerland and Italy for their pledges. The Group calls for voluntary contributions in support of this project. We look forward for payment of pledges and additional voluntary contirbutions to make this project a success.

5. The G77 and china would highlight following additional points on ECA;

a. First, The Group notes the finalization of main contractor. We also welcome the Ground-breaking ceremony held in the presence of representative of UN member states in Addis Ababa. We reiterate the need for conservation of the heritage of the landmark site and respect to the original design and appearance of the building. We also recognize the commitment to ensuring compliance with best practices on current building standards including equitable access.

b. Second, The Group re-iterates its stance on ensuring accessibility for students, academics, residents and tourist regardless of their capacity to pay. We request the Secretary General to revisit the draft fee waiver scheme to incorporate additional groups including children, students and persons with disabilities to have category of fee consideration to local circumstances and currency.

c. Not but not the least, we stress the important of effective governance, oversight, internal control and accountability to ensure that the project is implemented within approved budget and within revised project schedule. In this connection, we commend the ECA for its effective relations with Host country, the stakeholders committee and the advisory group. We also note with appreciation the implementation of the recommendations under the 2021 report of the office of Internal Oversight.

UNON

6. Similarly, on renovation of conference facilities in UNON, the group noted that the objectives of the conference facilities project are to meet the industry norms relating to health, safety and disaster preparedness, restore and maintain the property value of United Nations premises, ensuring accessibility for persons with disabilities to the premises; ensure the removal of hazardous materials; improve space usage efficiency and modernize updated buildings.

7. The group would like to highlight additional points on UNON conference facilities;

a. First, Referring to the decision of General Assembly for the approval of a dedicated project management team, we recall that the committee did not take a decision on all the recommendations of relevant report of Secretary General during the main part of the 76th Session. It resulted to slippage in the schedule and caused notable increases in costs for the dedicated United Nations project management team, which we think could have been avoided. We are concerned that any further delays will result in additional costs. It is therefore imperative that this committee approves the Secretary General’s recommendations contained in the present report.

b. Second, The Group of 77 and China stresses the importance of close coordination between the United Nations Office at Nairobi and the Secretariat in New York, in particular the Global Asset Management Policy Service, to ensure proper oversight and governance in all aspects of the project and the incorporation of lessons learned from other major construction projects especially the Capital Master plan and the Strategic Heritage Plan. In this regard, the Group acknowledges the efforts by the GAMPS for the benchmarking mission undertaken to the United Nations office at Geneva to draw on some of the best practices on conference.

c. Finally, The Group recalls that in previous resolutions related to construction projects, the General Assembly has impressed upon the Secretary-General on the need to use local capacity including local material content in these projects. Hence, we hope that during the implementation stages of the project all efforts will be made to integrate locally sourced and manufactured materials, as well as use of local labor and expertise

8. In conclusion; the Group would like to assure you of its readiness to engage constructively with all relevant stakeholders to conclude this agenda item at the earliest opportunity.

I thank you Mr. Chair