Ngerulmud

Ngerulmud
Ngerulmud
Coordinates	7 ° 30 '2 "  N , 134 ° 37' 27"  E Coordinates: 7 ° 30 '2 "  N , 134 ° 37' 27"  E
Basic data
Country	Palau
Country	Melekeok
height	70 m
surface	0.5 km²
Residents	271 (2010)
density	602.2  Ew. / km²
founding	2005
Palau government complex in Ngerulmud

Location of Ngerulmuds in the state of Melekeok

Ngerulmud is the capital of the Pacific island state of Palau . It is located in the state of Melekeok on the island of Babeldaob (Babelthuap), about 20 kilometers northeast of the former capital Koror and two kilometers northeast of the next town, Melekeok . With fewer than 300 inhabitants, Ngerulmud is the most populous capital of a sovereign state, ahead of Vatican City . There are no concrete details of the population. Palau's capital and seat of government were relocated to Ngerulmud at the end of 2006, after the US Capitol complex was built here.

status

After the relocation, there was confusion as to where the capital Palau was located. Since Ngerulmud did not exist as an independent place until 2006, many sources gave the nearest place and name of the state, Melekeok, as the capital. The German Foreign Office changed the 2015/16 capital city from Melekeok to Ngerulmud. The United Nations website considers the state of Melekeok to be the capital, while Palau's government site still lists Koror as the capital of Palau.

The 1979 constitution of Palau already stipulated that Koror was the transitional capital of the republic. No later than 10 years after the constitution came into force, a new capital must be named by the National Congress.

history

Palau's constitution, which came into force in 1979, instructed the parliament, then located in Koror , to set up a permanent capital on the side island of Babeldaob within ten years .

Government, parliament and jusitz building

The planning for the new government building in Ngerulmud began in 1986 when the construction contract for it was given to the Hawaiian architecture firm Architects Hawaii Ltd. who had also designed the building complex for the government of the Federated States of Micronesia . The planning was very slow because Palau had too few architects and engineers and most of the building material had to be imported first.

Construction didn't begin until the early 2000s, when Taiwan gave a $ 20 million loan to Palau to build the buildings in order to strengthen ties between the two countries and secure Palau's diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state. The capitol complex was completed in 2006 and contains individual buildings for the Palau parliament Olbiil Era Kelulau ( legislative branch ) as well as the executive and judicial branches of the country, which are connected via an open central square. It was opened on October 7, 2006 with a ceremony attended by over 5,000 people. On the same day the capital and seat of government were relocated and the government began to move all offices from Koror to Ngerulmud. The total cost of the buildings was over $ 45 million.

A critical article in the Wall Street Journal in 2013 reported that the government building was "unsuitable for the local climate", caused Palau to be in debt and that a fault in the ventilation system had again caused mold growth . In April 2013, the Ngerulmud post office, which had only been set up in December 2011, had to be permanently closed (one of only two in the country), as expenses of 30,000 US dollars had been offset by income of only 2,000 dollars during the 16 months of operation. Ngerulmud is Palau's only place with its own zip code , 96939, while the rest of the country uses 96940.

In July 2014, the opening of the 45th Pacific Islands Forum was held in Ngerulmud , but the main venue for the gathering was Koror. In February 2016, Ngerulmud hosted the 16th Micronesian Presidents' Summit with Presidents of Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia .

gallery

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  Parliament building

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  Executive building

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  Judiciary building

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  Architectural detail

Individual evidence

1. ↑ official information from the Palau government
2. ^ Palau's profile on the website of the German Foreign Office
3. ^ Profile of Palau on the United Nations data page
4. ^ Official website of the government of Palau. (English)
5. ^ Constitution of the Republic of Palau. Republic of Palau, 1979, Chapter 13, Section 11.
6. ^ Constitution of the Republic of Palau ( Memento of November 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) - Embassy of the Republic of Palau, Washington, DC. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
7. ↑ Lucy Jokiel (1 December 1995). "Trading places: while Hawaii's economy bottoms out, Guam's and Palau's are ready to take off," in: Hawaii Investor . Retrieved from Factiva on August 25, 2014.
8. ↑ Ralph Jennings (September 5, 2006). "Taiwan hands economic aid to firm ties with Palau", in: Reuters. Retrieved from Factiva on August 25, 2014.
9. ^ "Pride in Palau for the new Capitol" , in: The Honolulu Advertiser . Published November 12, 2006, accessed February 25, 2013.
10. ↑ United States Department of State. Title: Palau: Government offices moved to a new National Capitol Building complex located at Ngerulmud, Melekeok State
11. ^ David Walter (March 1, 2013). "Sequestration in Paradise: Palau worries it will be collateral damage in Washington's budget fight," in: The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved from Factiva on August 25, 2014.
12. ^ Aurea Gerundio-Dizon (April 23, 2013). "Palau Capital Building Post Office 'Closed For Good'" , in: Island Times . Retrieved March 2, 2015.
13. ↑ Maripet L. Poso (3 November 2010). "House requests Toribiong to establish Post Office in Ngerulmud" , in: Marianas Variety . Retrieved March 2, 2015.
14. ^ "Pacific Islands Forum opens in Palau with plea to protect world's oceans" , in: Radio Australia. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
15. ↑ (February 23, 2016). "16th Micronesian Presidents' Summit concludes," in: Island Times . Retrieved March 21, 2016.