CBS News, May 28, 2015
Critics say new American embassies are getting more expensive.
Cost overruns in Afghanistan are over $150 million, and the new embassy in London could top $1 billion. Nearly a year ago, CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes showed us how glass for the London embassy had to be shipped back and forth across the Atlantic for framing. Now, Cordes reports from Washington on problems with an embassy in the works in Mexico.
It is an embassy that was supposed to cost $577 million to build, but the construction estimate has gone up by one third–and the State Department hasn’t even broken ground yet.
No one disputes that the current U.S. Embassy in Mexico City is crowded, outdated and needs to be replaced. So four years ago the State Department bought a 15 acre plot in a former industrial district for $120 million. But there was a catch: the site had housed a Colgate-Palmolive factory for decades, which left behind hazardous waste. Colgate has been cleaning the site but it’s been three and a half years and it’s still not ready for construction.
“It’s a bit of a fiasco,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
Chaffetz chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform committee. He went to Mexico to see the site himself, but he didn’t stay long.
“I’m not going to step in there with the dirt, with all that toxins on it,” Chaffetz said.
The estimated cost of construction has risen from $577 million to $763 million. Add on the cost of the land and the unique design, and it’s over $939 million; one of the most expensive U.S. embassies in the world.
Critics say new American embassies are getting more expensive.
Cost overruns in Afghanistan are over $150 million, and the new embassy in London could top $1 billion. Nearly a year ago, CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes showed us how glass for the London embassy had to be shipped back and forth across the Atlantic for framing. Now, Cordes reports from Washington on problems with an embassy in the works in Mexico.
It is an embassy that was supposed to cost $577 million to build, but the construction estimate has gone up by one third–and the State Department hasn’t even broken ground yet.
No one disputes that the current U.S. Embassy in Mexico City is crowded, outdated and needs to be replaced. So four years ago the State Department bought a 15 acre plot in a former industrial district for $120 million. But there was a catch: the site had housed a Colgate-Palmolive factory for decades, which left behind hazardous waste. Colgate has been cleaning the site but it’s been three and a half years and it’s still not ready for construction.
“It’s a bit of a fiasco,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
Chaffetz chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform committee. He went to Mexico to see the site himself, but he didn’t stay long.
“I’m not going to step in there with the dirt, with all that toxins on it,” Chaffetz said.
The estimated cost of construction has risen from $577 million to $763 million. Add on the cost of the land and the unique design, and it’s over $939 million; one of the most expensive U.S. embassies in the world.
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