The Government Accountability Office has revealed in a new report that the U.S. Navy has yet to develop a full cost and schedule estimate for modernizing dry docks in its four public shipyards that maintain aircraft carriers and submarines.
The service branch also indicated that it will not be able to submit an estimate for the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program until 2025, after each shipyard completes its detailed infrastructure plans, GAO said Wednesday.
“The Navy faces challenges developing a reliable cost and schedule estimate for the full SIOP and its associated efforts, including project uncertainty, volatile commodity prices, and a lack of expertise completing dry dock projects,” the report reads.
GAO added that it found issues in the cost and schedule estimates for the Navy’s ongoing dry dock project at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
The government watchdog revealed that the cost estimate for the project grew from $528 million to $2.2 billion between 2019 and 2021 partly due to a lack of competition.
GAO recommends that for all key SIOP projects, the Navy update its estimates throughout the design process and comply with best practices for schedule estimates.
