The new British Embassy in Berlin

House of Commons papers 1999-00 585

Format:

Corporate Author:

Great Britain National Audit Office

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

In June 1998 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office signed a contract for the construction, operation and financing of a new Embassy in Berlin with a German supplier called Arteos, a consortium comprising Bilfinger + Berger and Johnson Controls. The contract provides for the construction of the building and its operation for 30 years, extendable for another 30. The building design was the result of a competition held in 1994. Two years later the Private Finance Initiative process was begun, the first and so far only PFI accommodation project undertaken by the FCO, and unlike other PFI deals where the bidders present their own designs. The NAO examined how effectively the FCO managed the competition; whether the FCO is likely to obtain a fit-for-purpose new Embassy in Berlin; and whether risks were allocated appropriately, and at a lower cost than if they had undertaken the project using conventional finance.