Press Release No. <a name="P16_75"></a>05/106

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) opens its second headquarters building in downtown Washington, D.C. on May 16, 2005. The new building, which is adjacent to the IMF's existing headquarters building at 700 19^th Street, N.W. will house about 1,500 staff. Occupancy will be complete by early June. With the move to the new offices, the IMF will be able to accommodate all of its Washington-based staff in fully-owned facilities for the first time since 1983, enabling it to relinquish leased space elsewhere in the downtown area. The new building was completed ahead of the IMF's original timetable and within the overall project budget. The construction cost of the project totaled approximately US$150 million.

In a statement on the completion of the Headquarters building, IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato said:

"I am extremely pleased to see the completion of this addition to our headquarters. The new facility will enable us to gather all staff in one headquarters campus and we will reduce our overall costs by eliminating rental expenditures. The completion of the new building within the IMF's original timetable and project budget is consistent with our drive to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the Fund's internal operations."

Purchase of the site was approved by the IMF's Executive Board in 1996 and groundbreaking took place on October 7, 2002. The IMF selected the development manager (CarrAmerica Development, Inc.), the architectural firm (Pei Cobb Freed and Partners) and the general contractor (The Clark Construction Group, Inc.) through competitive bidding.