Federal Research: Superconducting Super Collider Cost and Schedule

GAO discussed the Department of Energy's (DOE) Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) project, focusing on its cost and schedule. GAO noted that: (1) management problems hinder SSC construction, which is over budget and behind schedule; (2) the prime contractor has not implemented a cost and schedule control system for managing the project; (3) the contractor must correct problem accounting system for the cost and control system to work effectively; (4) the subcontractors' performance is not expected to improve; (5) DOE plans to follow a build-to-cost strategy to counter cost increases by eliminating, reducing, or deferring some components, which may compromise experimental research and increase costs later; (6) although the total estimated construction cost for SSC can not be reliably projected, it is expected to exceed $11 billion; (7) DOE has excluded some costs from its January 1991 estimate that it expects to be funded from sources other than its construction appropriations; (8) the SSC construction schedule will probably be delayed and project costs increased due to to reductions in future funding for the project; and (9) increased federal funding will be needed if foreign contributors fail to make their expected contributions.