RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/359  
 
20 March 2015  
(15-1609)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration   
 
 BUILDING RENOVATION FUND  
1  INTRODUCTION 1.1.  This document provides additional information and updates the initial proposal by the 
Secretariat to establish a building maintenance fund as presented in document WT/BFA/W/346.   
1.2.  Some CHF 190 million have been invested between 2008 and 2014 to completely renovate 
and expand the Centre William Rappard (CWR), erect a new administrative building, build two 
underground parking with a total 600 parking spaces, and create a security perimeter with a 
welcome pavilion. Almost two thirds of the amo unt was financed by the Swiss authorities. The 
WTO has become the owner of the CWR and has agreed to adequately maintain its buildings. 
2  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION  
2.1.  Following the completion of the building pr oject, the WTO is occupying approximately 46,000 
m2 of surface: 30,000 m2 in historical Centre William Rappard and 16,000 m2 in the new administrative building.  
2.2.  The WTO insurance broker valued these build ings close to CHF 200 million based on the 2012 
Geneva construction cost index. 
2.3.  A preliminary study submitted by our building consultant, former adviser to the École 
Polytechnique Fédérale (EPFL) in Lausanne, indicated that the CWR and the new administrative 
building should expect major renovation works in about 30 years. He estimated based on the EPFL model that the WTO should set aside some 2% of th e insured cost of the buildings every year in a 
renovation fund to properly maintain the WTO buildings in the long term. Given the insured value 
of the CWR, this would translate to some 4 MCHF per year.   
2.4.  The WTO follows the same accounting model as the OECD regarding the depreciation of its 
buildings. The buildings are split by components that have different expected life span. For 
instance the building structure and major building works are depreciated over a 50 year period. 
The windows and heating and ventilation systems ov er a 25 year period. The lifts over a 15 year 
period. This accounting approach can also provide some better estimates of the expected duration 
of each building component. 
2.5.  The Secretariat is consulting the "Fondation des Immeubles pour les Organisations 
Internationales" (FIPOI) on the best strategy to  manage the long term renovation of the WTO 
Buildings. FIPOI has more than 50 years of ex perience at building and renovating buildings 
occupied by international organizations in Geneva. FIPOI is recommending the establishment of a 
building renovation fund to plan for the long te rm maintenance of the buildings. The lack of 
forward looking planning by a number of intern ational organizations regarding the long term 
maintenance of their buildings has generated a number of financial crises in their funding. 
2.6.  The WTO will work over the next few months to prepare a preliminary long term plan for 
renovations. It is important to differentiate the ongoing maintenance works that ensures that 
building facilities can be kept operational, with the more important renovation works that 
safeguards the long term value of the buildings and keeps them technologically up-to-date. WT/BFA/W/359 
 
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  3   UPDATED PROPOSAL  
3.1.  The Secretariat suggests that the ongoing maintenance is managed as part of its annual 
operating expenditure, as currently included in the regular budget of the WTO.  
3.2.  The Secretariat suggests that a Building Renovation Fund is established to plan for more 
i m p o r t a n t  r e n o v a t i o n  w o r k s .  I t  i s  p r o p o s e d  t o  c h a n g e  t h e  n a m e  f r o m  B u i l d i n g  M a i n t e n a n c e  t o  
Building Renovation Fund, to better reflect the more long term nature and importance of the work that could be financed from this fund. 
3.3.  The purpose of the Building Renovation Fund would be to finance the following types of costs:   
a. Costs of extraordinary maintenance of the single-site;   
b. Costs of future improvements and enhancement works. 
3.4.  The Building Renovation Fund would be financed from an allocation from the Surplus Account 
and from an annual allocation from the regular budget. 
3.5.  The Secretariat would present to the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration 
renovation projects to be financed by the Building Renovation Fund. The Committee would need to 
approve these projects before the Secretariat could start the works. The Secretariat would then 
report on the use of the approved funds as part of the annual financial report. 
3.6.  The Secretariat would keep a medium term plan with estimated projects to be financed. 
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