Cotonou, Benin - In an important symbol of enduring friendship with Benin, Under Secretary for Management Patrick F. Kennedy, U.S. Charge d’affaires Todd R. Whatley, and Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Managing Director for Construction, Facility, and Security Management Eric Rumpf, alongside local officials, dedicated the new U.S. Embassy in Cotonou today.

The new $189 million campus is situated on an 8.8-acre site along one of the city’s main thoroughfares, Boulevard de la Marina, close to other diplomatic and ministerial buildings near the city center. Sustainable features to conserve resources and reduce operating costs include photovoltaic panels, light-emitting diode (LED) site lighting, water-conserving plumbing fixtures, wastewater treatment, and drought-tolerant landscaping.

Yost Grube Hall Architecture of Portland, Oregon, is the design architect, and PAGE of Washington, D.C., is the architect of record. B.L. Harbert International of Birmingham, Alabama constructed the complex.

Since 1999, as part of the Department’s Capital Security Construction Program, the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) has completed 122 new diplomatic facilities and has an additional 39 projects in design or under construction.

OBO’s mission is to provide safe, secure, and functional facilities that represent the U.S. Government to the host nation and support our staff in the achievement of U.S. foreign policy objectives. These facilities should represent American values and the best in American architecture, engineering, technology, sustainability, art, culture, and construction execution.