Book Description

The U.N. headquarters complex in New York City, built largely from 1949 to 1952, is a well-designed and well-constructed landmark that is now aging. The buildings, particularly much of the original infrastructure, have exceeded their economic life expectancy. They are energy inefficient and no longer conform to current safety, fire, and building codes or to U.N. technologic or security requirements. U.N. officials have discussed renovating the 50-year-old complex for about a decade. (See app. I for information on the U.N. headquarters and construction project planning.) In June 2000, the Secretary-General presented to the General Assembly a Capital Master Plan, which provides options for a multiyear effort to renovate the headquarters. The Secretary-General's preferred option was estimated to take 6 years and cost about $1 billion. In December 2000, the General Assembly approved $8 million for the Secretary-General to develop design concepts and associated cost estimates for the renovation and ensure that all viable renovation options had been considered. Because the United States is the largest contributor to the U.N. system and the host country for U.N. headquarters, the Congress is concerned about the reasonableness of the planning for the proposed renovation and its potential cost and financing. To address these concerns, you asked that we (1) assess the reasonableness of the United Nations renovation planning efforts, including the initial cost estimate; (2) comment on the potential cost to the U.S. government, including financing options and issues; and (3) discuss the tentative time frames for key steps in the renovation process. Because the Department of State, through the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, is responsible for ensuring that U.S. interests at the United Nations are met, we also inquired into what role State had played thus far in the renovation.