Afghanistan’s new U.S.-funded Ministry of Defense headquarters is 300 percent over budget and five years late, according to a new report from the Special Inspector General (IG) for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
The facility was supposed to cost $48.7 million and take 18 months to complete, but ultimately cost $154.7 million and took six-and-a-half years to finish. The project, despite all the extra time and money poured into it, still has some “construction deficiencies,” heightened by the building’s location in an “active seismic zone,” the IG said.
The Afghan National Army initially refused U.S. contractor access to the site, and security issues plagued the project, increasing the its length and cost, the IG said. The Afghan government has yet to occupy the building.
SIGAR estimates the U.S. has lost billions in Afghanistan to waste, fraud and abuse.
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