The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledged this weekend that the budget-busting VA hospital project in Aurora, Colo., will likely cost more than $2 billion, according to a USA Today report.
The VA previously estimated that the project would cost $1.73 billion. However, that estimate doesn't include the cost of medical equipment such as MRI machines, patient monitors or beds for the veterans, according to the report. That "activation" cost, which is included in the VA operating budget, is $340 million, bringing the total cost up to $2.04 billion, VA officials said.
The acknowledgement of the additional cost came months after work was temporarily halted after contractors said the VA significantly underestimated the project's true costs, and an independent arbiter agreed, according to the report. According to USA Today, there have been multiple attempts by lower-level VA employees to warn that the project's costs were getting out of control, and elected officials have been advocates for VA contracting reform.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing the project.
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