AURORA – The head of the nation’s VA healthcare system said he is confident Congress will approve an additional $625 million in October to complete the partially-constructed, hugely over-budget hospital in Aurora.

It was Veteran Affairs Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson’s tenth visit to the Aurora construction site where a budgeted $600 million facility is now projected to cost around $1.73 billion. The additional federal funding is needed to keep work at the site going and Gibson said all the money will come from existing VA sources.

“I am personally very optimistic that we will be able to make that work,” Gibson said, as construction crews with Kiewit-Turner worked in the background on the regional hospital. “I think members of Congress understand it’s time to make the decision.”

Gibson, who was appointed to the post by President Barack Obama in 2014 as part of sweeping administrative changes at the embattled federal agency, urged people to consider it an “investment on the margin.”

“Where could you invest $625 million and get more value than you could by finishing this project?” Gibson asked.

The Army Corps of Engineers has taken over management of construction in an effort to turn things around.

The Army Corps also investigated the VA’s construction practices at four hospitals around the nation that have been hit by delays and cost over-runs.

Those results were released Thursday.

The report notes shortcomings when it came to pricing, contract negotiation, change orders and other aspects of managing the project.

“While each of these weaknesses contributed to the myriad challenges the Denver-Aurora medical center project has encountered, the single biggest driver of cost and schedule delays is unquestionably the fundamental mismanagement of the integrated design and construction methodology, resulting in material breach by DVA contracting officers in transacting with the construction contractor,” the report says.

Gibson said one major change the VA has implemented is requiring 35 percent design plans before a contractor can give a cost estimate.

The Aurora Hospital didn’t go through that process.

“It was much more of a rough – I would call it a guesstimate,” Gibson said.

Gibson noted that there were more positive than negative points in the Corps of Engineers report, but said the VA will quickly adopt all of the recommendations. He said there is an ongoing internal investigation to see if any VA staff members should face repercussions for their roles in the billion-dollar boondoggle.

Members of Congress have repeatedly called those responsible for the cost overruns to be held accountable.

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Contact Megan Schrader

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AURORA, CO – December 10: Crews stand outside of the partial complete hospital buildings while cleaning up the worksite Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at the new Veteran Administrator hospital in Aurora, Colorado. (Photo By Brent Lewis/The Denver Post)

Brent Lewis