WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/BFA/W/261 
2 March 2012 
 (12-1237) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
 
UTILIZATION OF THE MEMBERS' TRANSITION OPERATING FUND 
  I. INTRODUCTION 
1. In conformance with the guidelines establishing  the Members' Transition Operating Fund
1 
(the Fund), this document presents: 
(a) a financial situation of the Fund; 
(b) an update of the progress of the Common Facilities projects;  and  
(c) a request for approval of the Committee to finance the next Common Facilities 
Projects following  the completion of the renovated facilities.  
2. It is to be recalled that the Fund was created to set aside funding for the specific expenditures 
of the building project, that is, costs pertaining to the installation and equipment of these facilities 
with furniture and audio-visual equipment. 
3. The current financial situation of the Fund  as at 29 February 2012 is provided below: 
Source of Funding   Amount in Swiss francs  
2007 Surplus 8,051,716 
2009 Surplus 1,036,988 2010 Surplus   10,527,319 
Total Funding   19,616,023    
 
Projects authorized 
South Courtyard Conference Centre (partial financing)   (2,509,445) 
Common Area & ITTC Furniture (900,000) Archive Rooms (900,000) Signage (200,000) Catering facilities in CWR (400,000)  
Total projects authorized as at 29 February 2012     ( 4,909,445)   
    
Balance of the Fund  
Total Funding 19,616,023 
Projects authorized (4,909,445) 
Remaining balance of the Fund as at 29 February 2012 14,706,578 
 
II. STATUS ON PROJECTS ALREADY AUTHORIZED 
4. The first project financed by the Fund is the modular 400 seating South Courtyard Conference 
Centre that has been completed and is currently  in the reception/acceptance process.  The Committee 
                                                      
1 WT/BFA/W/178/Rev.1. WT/BFA/W/261 
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  authorized at the end of 2010 an amount of up to CHF 3 million from the Fund to partly finance the 
installation of audio-visual and interpretation equi pment, Wi-Fi network and furniture for the South 
Courtyard Conference Centre.  The total e xpenditure incurred on the project amounts to 
CHF 4,500,000.  The project has been financed from 2010 budgetary savings amounting to CHF 1,990,555 and CHF 2,509,445 from the Fund.   
5. The second project financed by the Fund is th e common areas and Institute for Training and 
Technical Cooperation furniture for a total approved amount of CHF 1,400,000.  Following 
competitive tendering, the contract for this proj ect was awarded for an amount just below CHF 
900,000, reducing the initial funding requirement by CHF 500,000.  The delivery of furniture has started and will gradually take place over the next 9 months as renovated areas become available. 
6. The third project financed by the Fund is the equipping of the archive rooms for an amount of 
up to CHF 900,000.  The main contract for this  project is currently being discussed.  Technical 
requirements, including the purchase of storage equipment are currently being evaluated.  The technical work will be carried by the same genera l contractor, HRS, as for the intra-muros building 
work. 
7. The fourth project is the development of coordinated signage concept that shall be 
implemented throughout the entire WTO complex including the Centre William Rappard, the Salle 
William Rappard (General Council Meeting Room), the new administrative building, the villas, 
annexes and parking.  A local public education instit ution, Haute école d'art et de design (HEAD), is 
working cooperatively with the ar chitects and the Secretariat to fi nalize the design concept. It is 
expected that the funding for this project of CHF 200,000 might not be fully required.   
8. The fifth project financed by the Fund is th e catering facilities in CWR and is approaching 
completion. The general contractor HRS also mana ges this project with a funding of CHF 400,000. 
These catering facilities in the CWR will be compos ed of a coffee shop and a Delegate’s dining room 
to be located on the Lakeside of the new Atri um. These facilities shall become operational shortly 
after the Atrium is open. 
III. PROJECTS WHERE FUNDING IS REQUIRED 
9. As the Building Project is entering its final year , a number of projects have to be engaged in 
order to meet the delivery schedule. The Secret ariat seeks the Committee's authorization for the 
funding for two projects:  North Conference Rooms and the IT Data Centre.   
A. NORTH CONFERENCE ROOMS  
10. The renovation of existing conference rooms A, B, C, D, E, F, and W located in the North 
Wing ground and third floors of the Centre W illiam Rappard (CWR) building are scheduled to 
commence shortly as part of the renovation of the CWR financed by the Swiss Authorities.  
11. The Secretariat will take advantage of the renovation to replace the existing and out-dated 
audio-visual equipment and furniture for all these room s that together have a total seating capacity of 
667.   The replacement of equipment and furniture w as never considered to be financed as part of the 
CWR renovation. It was initially considered to reta in the existing conference room furniture, however 
it was noted that they do not comply with existing fire regulations and that the integration of new 
audio-visual equipment would have pr oven to be complex and expensive. 
12. The Secretariat is planning the replacement a nd improvement of these conference facilities by 
extending the services of the specialized consortium of  companies that is currently contracted for the  WT/BFA/W/261 
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  South Courtyard Conference Centre.  This cons ortium of companies, directed by DEGW, was 
previously selected on the basis of an open competitive bidding process.  
13. The quality and reliability of DEGW's work  performance was assessed positively.  The 
following criteria were considered for the assessmen t: compliance to the contract terms, quality of 
work delivered, conformance to the schedule and budgeted costs, and flexibility.    
14. The installation of audio-visual and recording equipment in the North Wing conference rooms 
will be similar to the ones in the South Courtyard Co nference Centre.  Compatibility and standardized 
utilization of technical equipment (including screens and projectors, cameras), inter-connections with 
the other conference rooms, centralized technical control room, video-teleconference system features, 
Wifi coverage, have all been tec hnically evaluated.  The standardi zation of equipment and furnishings 
will enhance savings in operational costs as well as ma intenance, repair, and replacement of materials. 
15. The interpretation booths will be equipped with the latest technology, the same quality and 
type as the interpretation and/sound systems in the South Courtyard Conference Centre. Conference 
rooms A and C will not be equipped with interpreta tion. Webcasting will be enabled in rooms D, E, 
and W. 
16. Based on discussions held with DEGW, the Secretariat has reduced the amount of funding 
required for this project to CHF 6.2 million, down from the CHF 8 million initially foreseen.  
17. The work now has to be engaged rapidly as the conference rooms are scheduled to be 
operational by September 2012, except for conference room F which should already be ready by April 
2012. 
B. DATA CENTRE  
18. The WTO IT Data Centre is currently located in the CDM building which will be liberated by 
the end of 2012.  The Data Centre will be moved to  the new administrative building which needs to be 
adjusted in order to meet the technical requirements.  
19. Initial cost estimates done early 2011 for this project amounted to CHF 500,000. After further 
analysis, the final quotation received for the Data Centre is in the amount of CHF 700,000.  Detailed 
assessment of requirements and technical specifi cations on cooling and ve ntilation, air renewal, 
lighting and plumbing system, energy supply and b ack-up for micro-power cuts, connection to the 
generator, safety and security compliance (to include evacuation alarm, fire detection and extinguisher 
system) induced some additional costs.  A t echnical evaluation was carried out on several 
configuration options to conform to the 'Minergie Plus' requirements of this building.  A 'Minergie 
Plus' label signifies less energy consumption, ultim ately reducing the operating costs of the data 
centre.     
20. The Secretariat is planning to award the Data Ce ntre project to the current general contractor 
of the new building, Implenia.   By engaging the ser vices of the same company, it is anticipated that 
an earlier completion date for the Data Centre a nd the construction works will be achieved.  The 
scheduled completion date for the flooring, walls, ceilings, and primary technical needs is mid-
October 2012.  The installation and cabling of rack s, the electrical connections of various IT 
equipment, and the servers will be completed by the end of November. 
21. The early and timely completion of the Data Cent re will also facilitate the transfer of the 
Information Technology Division staff and some  existing equipment from the CDM to the new 
building early December 2012, limiting the risk of having to extend the rental of the CDM building. WT/BFA/W/261 
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  22. The Secretariat therefore proposes that the Co mmittee adopts the following decision in order 
to allow the Secretariat to move fo rward on the projects detailed above: 
The Committee agrees that the following a dditional projects may be funded from the 
Members' Transition Operating Fund for a total amount of CHF 6,900,000: 
 The equipping of the North Wing Conference Rooms for an amount of up to 
CHF 6,200,000; 
 The equipping of the Data Centre for an amount of up to CHF 700,000. 
 
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