A Very Expensive Embassy Building

The Guardian today reports that the US government has largely completed an embassy building to house both the residences and offices of US officers in Iraq (Baghdad). The impressive fact about it all is not only that in spite of the difficult conditions this has been the single project that has been completed rather promptly and on budget, but that it is the most expensive construction of an embassy by the US.

If it were not for the fact that the construction costs of embassies and ambassadorial residences are not easily identifiable, this blogger would provide a list of the most expensive buildings just to get the perspective. That notwithstanding, at a reported cost of US$ 592 million, it is one expensive building. In fairness, this is a building whose costs represent the peculiar risks attached to maintaining an embassy in one of the most dangerous patches of real estate in he entire world today. I would wish to know whether its sturdy bomb-proof construction has taken due account of the diverse security risks that diplomats would face. All I am certain about is that its construction is a signal that the US will have a good number of staff in Iraq for quite a while.

From the public interest point of view, to what extent does the design differ from known economic principles for the construction?