The St George Palace will be a four-storey office block, housing the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, and the office of Trade and Foreign Affairs.
Radio Tonga reports that in his remarks at the building's beginning, the Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pohiva, said the initiative was a vision of the late King George Tupou V.
China is providing a grant of US$11 million dollars to pay for the construction, to be done by Shanghai Construction Group.
