Department of State Breaks Ground on New Office Annex for U.S. Embassy in Bangkok
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations celebrates the groundbreaking of the new office annex for the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. Chargé d’Affaires Michael Heath and Director-General Witchu Vejjajiva of the Department of American and South Pacific Affairs, Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs were joined by other distinguished guests for the ceremony. The new project, located on the site of the original Embassy campus across from the current Chancery, will support the continued growth of U.S.–Thai diplomatic, security, and commercial relations and strengthen ties with the Thai people. The new building will modernize the U.S. Embassy’s platform for providing consular services and conducting diplomacy and will serve as a physical manifestation of our longstanding alliance with the Kingdom of Thailand.
SHoP Architects of New York is the design architect. The construction contract was awarded to B.L. Harbert International of Birmingham, Alabama. As a result of this project, an estimated $125 million will be invested in the local economy and an estimated workforce of more than 2,000 U.S., Thai, and third-country nationals will be employed during construction.
Since the start of the Department’s Capital Security Construction Program in 1999, OBO has completed 168 new diplomatic facilities. OBO currently has more than 50 active projects either in design or under construction worldwide. OBO provides safe, secure, functional, and resilient facilities that represent the U.S. government to the host nation and that support U.S. diplomats in advancing U.S. foreign policy objectives abroad.
