Overseas Construction

Problems in Building USIA Office in Calcutta, India Gao ID: NSIAD-88-8 October 9, 1987

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the problems the Department of State encountered in the construction of an office building for the United States Information Agency (USIA) in Calcutta, India.

GAO found that: (1) problems with the diaphragm walls caused a 21-month delay in construction and a cost overrun of between $1.6 million and $3.6 million; (2) there was some controversy as to whether the contractor was the low bidder, since its price did not include provisional allowance items; (3) the failure of the structure's diaphragm walls halted construction for 8 months; (4) the contractor refused to cooperate with State's Office of Foreign Building Operations (FBO) in correcting the problem until FBO agreed to pay additional costs; and (5) although FBO considered terminating the contract, it decided not to do so because of the probable consequential political damage.



The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.