PRESS BRIEFING BY ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR CENTRAL SUPPORT SERVICES

PRESS BRIEFING BY ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR CENTRAL SUPPORT SERVICES

The existing conditions at the United Nations Secretariat building posed serious health, safety and security problems and required considerable resources for emergency repairs and energy, Toshiyuki Niwa, Assistant Secretary-General for Central Support Services, said at Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

He told correspondents that after carrying out a comprehensive study mandated by the General Assembly an architectural and engineering team believed there was no better alternative to the Capital Master Plan (CMP) under which United Nations Headquarters would move to a 900,000 square-foot 35-storey building south of 42^nd street while major repairs were carried out on the present complex.

The Assistant Secretary-General said the Secretary-General’s report on the proposed refurbishment of the United Nations complex (A/57/265), to be released this week, would show that only two viable choices were available:  the reactive approach (ad hoc repairs and maintenance) or a complete planned refurbishment (the Capital Master Plan).  The first approach would prove to be extremely expensive, with most of the cost going for emergency repairs over the next     25 years.  "At the end, there would be no fundamental upgrade in structure, systems and major equipment and no improvement in energy efficiency," he said.

The remaining question posed by the Secretary-General was "how and when to implement a capital master plan".  Unless a firm decision was taken to implement the CMP, about $35 million could be lost yearly while the need for emergency repairs would progressively increase because of the age of the building, systems and major equipment.  The Capital Master Plan would cost between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion, depending on the choice of the scope and the phasing of the work.

Mr. Niwa said the United Nations could choose to address "only the present codes and standards covered by the lower amount, or it could seize a once-in- 50-years opportunity and also tackle the future and more comprehensive codes and standards", which might include additional security, higher redundancy of building systems and environmentally sustainable measures.

On the issue of phasing, he said there were two possible approaches; the first entailed maximizing relocation and refurbishment areas and would take five years.  The second approach entailed a segmented, phased relocation and phased refurbishment which would take six years or more.  "The first approach is the Secretary-General's preferred choice," he said, "because it minimizes possible delays and cost overruns, poses no disruption to the work of the United Nations or the construction and avoids perceived environmental risks stemming from removal of hazardous materials."

But Mr. Niwa said the first approach was only possible if a "swing space" was found for both offices and meetings with the cooperation of New York City, a "dream solution" had been found next door to the United Nations at a site known as the Robert Moses playground.  In order for that solution to materialize, the

United Nations would have to provide mitigation in comparable size and value to

compensate for the playground’s demapping.  "The best solution would be for the United Nations to provide a bikeway along the East River, connecting the rest of the bikeway system along the East River," he said.

Answering a correspondent's question, Mr. Niwa said the bikeway would cost the United Nations between $10 million and $12 million.  While the Secretary-General was recommending the mitigation to Member States, he was also proposing that financing for the new building be secured from a combination of private donations, host city and state contributions, interest-free loans from the host Government and repayment of interest-free loans by Members States, exactly how the Headquarters complex had been financed 50 years ago.

In answer to another question, he said that New York City, through the United Nations Development Corporation would construct the new building and lease it to the United Nations.  "After 35 years, the ownership of the land and the building will revert to the United Nations," he added.  The new complex could be connected to such existing underground structures as the Midtown Tunnel and the subway system.

In response to a question about the biggest problems with the present complex, Mr. Niwa said any visit by the New York City Fire Department would reveal fire hazards due to defective sprinkler systems, potential environmental hazards due to the use of asbestos and outdated maintenance equipment.  However, there was no plan to move out of New York City to what a correspondent called a cheaper space because the present structure was a landmark and because the swing space would be provided by the City of New York at reasonable rates.

After the refurbishment of the United Nations complex, the new building would be used to consolidate the United Nations offices housed in DC-1, DC-2 and commercially leased premises, he said.

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