Base Closing Costs Up, Savings Down

GAO has reported that the savings from the ongoing round of DoD base closings and realignments won't exceed the costs until 2018—five years later than the original estimate when the actions were approved—since the associated costs keep going up and the expected savings keep going down. GAO said that the costs of the current round will far exceed the combined costs of the four previous rounds, with expenses now expected to be near $35 billion. The original estimate in 2005 was $21 billion. Several of the actions where costs are growing the fastest are in the Washington, D.C. area, including the realignment of medical facilities, headquarters and intelligence operations in the area; much of the increase is due to higher than expected costs of construction. Meanwhile, the projected 20-year savings have dropped to $10.9 billion, less than a third of the original estimate of $36 billion. The actions, which are supposed to be finished in September 2011, will affect some 800 facilities and require the relocation of some 123,000 civilian and military positions, GAO said.

 

Back | Published: September 8, 2010