The US government has the opportunity to save money on the construction of the wall with Mexico reports The Washington Post citing the estimates of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
If President-elect Joe Biden stops the project, the US will save about 2, $ 6 billion. The United States Army Corps estimates that by the end of January 2021, the project will have about $ 3.3 billion in unused funds. The department is currently negotiating how to terminate contracts.
The newspaper clarifies that in case of termination or amendment of the contract, construction firms will be able to bill the authorities for the withdrawal of teams, removal of materials and equipment, and so on. Such costs can reach $ 700 million. The Army Corps also told Biden about the possibility of freezing the construction of new sections, but completing work on the parts already built.
Already during the election campaign in the summer of 2020, Biden made it clear that he would not build new sections of the border wall if he became president. “Building the wall will do little to deter criminals and cartels seeking to use our borders. Instead of stealing resources (…), you need to direct them to reasonable measures to protect the borders,” – said in one of the statements of the Democrat.
The current US President Donald Trump promised to build a wall on the border between the US and Mexico during its 2016 election campaign. He introduced a state of emergency on the territory of the country in order to redistribute funds from other projects. In the summer of 2019, the Supreme Court approved the allocation of $ 2.5 billion from Pentagon funds for construction walls.
At the end of October, Homeland Security announced the construction 400 miles (about 450 kilometers) of the wall. By the end of 2020, the department promised to complete 450 miles (about 730 kilometers).