. /.  RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BFA/W/220 
16 November 2010 
 (10-6132) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
MEMBERS' TRANSITION OPERATING FUND 
 
 
1. The General Council approved the establishment of the Members' Transition Operating Fund 
(the Fund) in December 2008.  In the context of the on-going CHF 130 million building project, the 
Fund provides Members a reserve to finance the in evitable additional operating costs faced by the 
Secretariat during the construction work and in stallation costs once the construction work is 
completed.  It should avoid any large increase in the Secretariat's regular budget in future years to 
finance non-regular activities incurred by the build ing project until its completion in 2013.  The 
initial balance of the Fund has been set by allo cating CHF 8,051,716 of the 2007 Surplus Account 
balance.  Members shall authorize any use of the Fund.  
2. The building project financial envelope is provi ded by the Swiss Government through a grant 
and an interest-free loan.  It provides for all cons truction and renovation costs.  However, it does not 
cover the costs associated with e quipping, furnishing or installing facilities in the newly constructed 
or renovated premises.  The Secretariat plans to re-use as much as possible of the existing equipment 
in these premises.  Some ageing equipment will in evitably need to be replaced as part of this 
extensive move.  This is the case, for example, of  the conference room audiovisual equipment that is 
becoming increasingly unreliable.  Its planned replace ment had been delayed due to the start of the 
construction project. 
3. The construction work on the building project started at the end of 2008 with the renovation 
of the existing parts of the Centre William Rappard.  In 2010, the WTO awarded the contracts for the 
intra and extra-muros projects.  In September 2010,  the building project entered a new phase with the 
start of the construction of the South courtyard conference centre. 
4. In the last two years, the Secretariat has been able, through careful budgetary management, to 
absorb the additional operating and installation cost s generated by the building project in its initial 
phases.  These costs included the move and installati on of the IT data centre, the central print shop 
and of almost 300 staff to a temporary location in a neighbouring office building, the move and 
installation of some 300 staff to the newly renovated areas in South wing of the Centre William 
Rappard, additional security and expert support to  supervise the building project.  The Fund’s 
balance has therefore remained unchanged. 
5. Since the establishment of the Fund in 2008, the building project has gathered momentum and 
progressed from a design to a construction phase.  Duri ng that period, the Secretariat has also defined 
in greater detail the various common facilities to be  incorporated in the new and renovated buildings. 
Based on this information, the Secretariat engaged several studies to assess what will be required to 
equip and install these facilities in order to make them operational.  The Secretariat has regularly 
informed the Members of the related cost est imates.  The latest estimates indicate that 
CHF 16 million to CHF 18 million will be require d to equip and install most of these common 
facilities.  
6. In order to finance these costs, the Secretariat is exploring several options.  The Secretariat 
has been investigating the Members’  interest in sponsoring the equipment and installation of selected WT/BFA/W/220 
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  common facilities.  Several Members have responded  and asked for additional information.  The 
Secretariat is also considering the possibility of seeking financial support from certain service 
suppliers, including, for instance, the ca tering company and the retail bank.   
7. The Secretariat will continue, through budgetary savings, to absorb most of the additional 
operating costs generated by the bu ilding project and seek to cover some of the final installation 
costs.  However, the Secretariat’ s budget will not be able to absorb the bulk of the costs required to 
equip and install the common facilities.  
8. The Fund established by the Members will most likely continue to be the primary source of 
funding.  The Director-General proposes to stre ngthen the financial situation of the Fund by 
transferring the balance of the Surplus Account available at the end of 2009 to the Fund.  It is 
recalled that the 2009 Financial Performance Repo rt disclosed a credit ba lance in the Surplus 
Account of CHF 1,036,988 (WT/BFA/W/215).  In accordance with Financial Regulation 26.3 
(WT/L/156/Rev.2), the Committee may therefore wish  to consider the following recommendation: 
9. The Committee recommends to the General Council that the credit balance of the 
Surplus Account as at 31 December 2009 amounting to CHF 1,036,988 is transferred to the  
Members' Transition Operating Fund .   
10. The South Courtyard Conference Centre will be the first major common facility that will 
become operational.  Its construction is due to be completed in May 2011.  It will then need to be 
equipped in order to become fully operational by October 2011, when the existing conference rooms 
located in the North Wing will be closed for extensive renovation.  
11. In Spring 2010 the costs of equipping the S outh Courtyard Conference Centre had been 
estimated at CHF 4.5 million.  An international tend er was launched in July 2010.  The review of the 
offers received has almost been completed, and a c ontract will be due for signature by the end of the 
year in order for the selected supplier to meet the tig ht project deadline.  The price of the contract to 
be negotiated is expected to be close to the in itially estimated amount of CHF 4.5 million.  In the 
absence of a firm sponsorship offer from a Member a nd in order to ensure no delay in the project, the 
Secretariat proposes to finance the equipping of the South Courtyard Conference Centre by using the 
available 2010 budgetary savings, to be supplemented by an allocation of up to a maximum of 
CHF 3 million from the Fund.  The Secretariat woul d try to limit the call on the Fund for the South 
Courtyard Conference Centre in order to reserve the maximum amount of resources within the Fund 
for the equipping of other facilities.  In according with the Fund’s guidelines, the Committee may therefore wish to consider the following recommendation: 
12. The Committee recommends to the General Council that an amount of up to 
CHF 3 million from the Members' Transition Operating Fund may be used to finance the 
equipping of the South Courtyard Conference Centre .  
 
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