UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended that the General Assembly accept a 1,2 billion US dollar loan offer from the United States to implement a plan to overhaul the world bodys deteriorating New York Headquarters.
In his latest progress report on the status of plans to overhaul the UN complex – known as the Capital Master Plan (CMP) – the Secretary-General says that after consulting with financial experts, he believes that the UN, in the current market, could not obtain a lower fixed rate than that proposed by the US, which would set the total financed loan of 1,2 billion to be paid out over a maximum of 30 years at an annual interest rate of 5,4 per cent.
The offer was proposed by the US in 2004 and approved by Congress in March. Annual repayments of the principal and interest under the current scenario would amount to 89,8 million dollar and the total principle and interest to be paid over the life of the loan, including the construction phase, would amount to 2,511 billion dollar.
Mr. Annan also recommends that the Assembly authorize him to conclude an agreement with the host country to preserve the Organizations option to borrow the amount to finance the CMP, provided that the agreement does not create for the UN any financial or legal obligation, or restrict the Organizations discretion to seek funds for the same purposes from any other source if it chooses to do so.
The report notes various alternatives to the use of the proposed UNDC-5 building as swing space for UN staff while the CMP is underway. Mr. Annan notes that use of the space is now in question because the New York State legislature did not pass, as had been expected, legislation necessary that would have allowed that part of the project to go forward.
While hopeful that the requisite laws will be approved, he notes that the delay has affected the overall timing and cost of the project. Still, he says, UNDC-5 represents a unique opportunity for the UN to accommodate its long-term needs.
Meanwhile, The New York Times notes that Kofi Annan has come up with the idea of possibly temporarily moving the UN to Brooklyn. The possibility emerged on Tuesday in a new progress report from Annan on plans to move the organization into temporary housing during the renovation of the United Nations headquarters on the East River in Manhattan, once stylish but now dangerously antiquated.
While the destination remains in doubt, there is no dispute over the need to vacate the existing headquarters. Periodic surveys have found the building, with its asbestos, lead paint (blyholdig maling), outmoded plumbing (rørsystemer) and electrical systems and lack of sprinklers to be alarmingly behind the times and below minimal safety standards.
The overhaul of the UN complex is widely viewed as the most cost-effective approach to stemming the deterioration of the world bodys Headquarters. Emergency repairs to address the prevailing health, safety and security problems in the building, coupled with inefficient energy use, far exceed the savings that could accrue if the problems are addressed systematically, Mr. Annan says.
Kilde: FNs nyhedstjeneste
