TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is buying the building housing its representative office in Rome to avoid the high cost of rent and moving, reports said Thursday (Aug. 31).

MOFA will spend NT$480.33 million (US$15.06 million) on the project in two stages. Budget documents submitted to the Legislative Yuan revealed the ministry would pay a first installment of NT$311.67 million this year, per CNA.

MOFA learned in June the owner of the building was having financial difficulties, leading to a court in Rome ordering foreclosure, according to spokesperson Jeff Liu (劉永健). The ministry decided the right time had come to stop renting property and buy the office instead.

Its present address was convenient for the public, and the purchase would help save on the cost of moving and renting another place. The procedure is expected to be completed in September, Liu said.

In October, Taiwan will also open its new office in Milan, Italy’s financial and economic center in the north. Staff are also arriving in the Canadian city of Montreal, where MOFA hopes an office can start functioning by the end of the year.