Blast-proof windows will be installed at the U.N. headquarters in New York, USA, as part of new security measures intergrated into ongoing efforts to modernize the 60-year-old structure.
The additional measures are in line with systemwide efforts to revamp U.N. security amid an alarming rise in direct attacks on the organization. But the new measures are expected to bring the total cost of the project to $2 billion — some 4 percent higher than the original budget, Michael Adlerstein, the project’s executive director, told The Associated Press.
Adlerstein, a U.N. assistant secretary-general, added that the new measures are also likely to delay the completion of the project, which is the headquarters’ first major facelift since the buildings there were built.
This project kicked off in 2008 and is expected to be completed by 2013. While generally welcomed by U.N. staff members at the headquarters, the project is not without criticism. Over the years, there have been complaints the construction work is interrupting meetings and about the lack of staff-level consultations, among others, according to AP.
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About the author
Ivy Mungcal
As senior staff writer, Ivy Mungcal contributes to several Devex publications. Her focus is on breaking news, and in particular on global aid reform and trends in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas. Before joining Devex in 2009, Ivy produced specialized content for U.S. and U.K.-based business websites.
