$700 million U.S. Iraq Embassy in Need of $115 Million Upgrade

The $700 million U.S. Embassy in Iraq, in use for just three years, is in need of a $115 million upgrade. The money is needed because the State Department is consolidating facilities in Bagdad into the compound, The Washington Post reported.

“The consolidation takes the overall diplomatic property in Baghdad down by one-third, but increases the personnel working and living on the Embassy compound,” according to a statement by the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations.

The compound currently houses 1,350 U.S. government employees and is the largest and most expensive U.S. embassy facility in the world. The money is to be spent on upgrading and repurposing “the facility infrastructure, such as the power plant and annex office space, to accommodate the increased capacity,” the statement said according to the Post