A report in the Marshall Islands says the capital building, which houses the offices of the President and Cabinet ministers, is in serious disrepair and will require a major overhaul to continue as a functioning facility.
The 150 page report by Honolulu-based Leo A. Daly engineers says structural damage to columns and roof on the fourth floor of the administrative offices wing has reached an extent where it is unsafe to occupy.
For the past three years, no one has been using the fourth floor but many government departments continue to use the lower floors.
The Daly report also raised a warning about the lack of fire protection in the building, everything from a broken fire alarm system to a non-working fire sprinkler system.
It says many of the problems can be traced to the lack of a systematic maintenance program for the building.
The report, requested by the government, is not the first to point out major problems in the 20-year-old facility.
In 2004, Beca International Consultants of New Zealand first exposed the problems that developed from lack of maintenance.
