Construction of the new Coast Guard Atlantic Regional Headquarters has been completed on Southside Road in St. John’s.

The new headquarters will also house the new Marine Rescue Sub-Centre. Some 200 employees will work from the new building, with employees starting to move in early September.

An official opening ceremony was held this morning at the new building on Southside Road. Federal Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson was on hand for the event.

Assistant Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard in Atlantic Canada, Gary Ivany says the new centre goes a long way in upgrading and modernizing operations.

Ivany says this will allow for better communications across the region, and in a crisis, he says they can set up an incident command post.

As part of today’s announcement, Minister Wilkinson also introduced the CCGS Conception Bay—a new vessel in the Coast Guard’s fleet, under the National Shipbuilding Strategy.