LITTLE ROCK — Six Afghan national police buildings in Helmand and Khandahar provinces have construction deficiencies because of poor U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversight and contractor performance, according to an audit.
The U.S. has spent $27 billion since 2002 to train Afghan security forces. The fiscal 2010 and pending fiscal 2011 defense bills call for spending an additional $14 billion to add to the police force and Afghan Army.
The projects were hampered by a contract awarded to an inexperienced Afghan firm, Kabul-based Basirat Construction, wrote Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Arnold Fields.
“The construction was poor,” including low-quality concrete and inadequate roofing installation, Fields concluded in the audit set for release today. “We observed structural issues that cast doubt on the facilities’ ability to withstand an earthquake as required by the contract.”
Further hindering theproject, the building sites are in remote and less secure locations, resulting in 36 months of inadequate oversight, Fields wrote.
Once completed, the facilities are to support 120 police each and include prisoner cells, housing, food-preparation areas and latrines with showers.
U.S. and NATO troops are fighting the Taliban in those provinces, with a goal to secure the population and establish the rule of law.
Training, equipping and housing the Afghan police is a goal of the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy. The police are on track to reach 109,000 by December and 134,000 personnel by December 2011, according to a White House report to Congress this month.
The strategy could be slowed if police facilities fail to meet construction requirements. The Corps of Engineers needs to improve contractor oversight to “safeguard U.S. reconstruction funds and provide suitable facilities,” Fields wrote.
The U.S. government may be responsible for at least $1million in repair costs to address the construction deficiencies, Fields wrote.
The $5.9 million contract awarded in May 2007 to Basirat Construction originally called for completion of all six facilities by January 2009 but the completion date is now unknown, the audit said.
As of May, the company has been paid more than 90 percent of the contract’s value, so it has “a reduced incentive to continue with construction and correct known deficiencies,” the audit said.
Mohan Singh, a Corps official, said “construction at each site did not meet all contract requirements” and said “corrective actions are under way.”
The firm “is committed to correcting all deficient work and completing the remaining facilities,” he said.
Singh said Corps personnel will continue to monitor the project. He said they don’t agree with the conclusion that the facilities have suspect structural integrity and are “confident the facilities will not fail during a seismic event.”
Front Section, Pages 6 on 10/27/2010