Following a short formal, opening ceremony, the new Commonwealth Park will open its gates to the public on Thursday at 1200 noon.

“The creation of this green area in the centre of our city is one of the flagship manifesto commitments of the Government. It is fabulous to see this become a reality,” commented the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo.

The park has a British character but with a distinct Mediterranean feel. Over 130 large, healthy trees, all of which are Mediterranean species or from areas with similar climatic conditions, have been imported from Italy. As well as the shady walkways created by the trees, there are open grass areas, water features and a bandstand. Many of the extensive works are hidden from view but they include infrastructure works for the water features, the lighting and irrigation systems.Rainwater is collected and stored in two huge underground tanks, for the park’s complex irrigation systems.

The park has strong ‘Green’ credentials. It has utilised local waste products to manufacture the 3000m3 of topsoil required and its extensive lighting uses low running- cost LED light technologies to minimise the park’s ongoing costs.

Construction work by GJBS started in early 2013 and has proceeded without any interruptions. The total cost of the project is £5.6M but, after grants of £1.5M from the EU and £700k from the Kusuma Trust, the net cost to the Government of Government is £3.4M.