First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones has picked up the keys for the Welsh Assembly Government's new North Wales office in Llandudno Junction, as he marked the end of the construction of the building.

The office, which is the greenest building on the Assembly Government estate, was completed on time at the end of April and the keys have now been officially handed over to the First Minister by the main contractor Pochin Construction Ltd. There will now be a period of 'fit-out' when furniture and ICT equipment is installed before staff start to move in over the summer.

The First Minister said: "This is a building both the Welsh Assembly Government and North Wales can be proud of. Its design reflects the heritage of the area, whilst making as little impact on the environment as possible. It is a striking landmark building which will be open to the public, and I hope as many people as possible come to see it when it opens.

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"This building has been completed on time and on budget and I’d like to thank all those involved including the Construction Team, the main contractor Pochin and all other contractors.

"It is no small achievement to complete a building on this scale and to achieve such high environmental standards – BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and an A-rated Energy Performance Certificate.

"This office is an investment in the long term and will bring sustained benefits to North Wales as a result. The creation of a large office improves the career prospects of existing staff in North Wales and helps brings jobs to the area."

Managing Director of Pochin Construction Ltd Jon Pochin said: "This magnificent building makes me feel extremely proud of the Pochin Construction Team, all our sub-contractors and the Welsh Assembly Government's project management team who have worked collaboratively to ensure that this handover was on-time.

"Not only does the building incorporate state of the art sustainable design, the 'one-team' approach to getting the job done has been exemplary. This excellent working practice I know will shape the way Pochin's conduct all our construction projects in the future. We have enjoyed working with the Welsh Assembly Government and I thank all involved."

(CD/GK)