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MoD criticised for building abandoned 'super hangar'
The Ministry of Defence and the Welsh authorities have been criticised over the construction of a multi-million pound hi-tech "super hangar" to repair RAF jet fighters which was abandoned within a year of opening.
RAF jet fighter: The MoD and the Welsh authorities are now working to establish a defence training academy in the super hangar. In a joint report, the National Audit Office (NAO) and the Wales Audit Office (WAO) said the Red Dragon project cost the taxpayer £113 million but failed to achieve any of the planned objectives.
The MoD hoped to achieve £263 million of efficiency savings by housing all its fast jet repairs under one roof while the Welsh authorities believed that they could create 4,000 new jobs at the site at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan.
The MoD and the Welsh authorities are now working to establish a defence training academy in the super hangar, which will bring over 5,500 jobs to the area, while it is also hoped to create an aerospace park on the site with a further 2,000 jobs.
In their report, the NAO and the WAO said the MoD and the Welsh authorities failed to work closely enough together and lacked understanding of each other's key planning assumptions.
Edward Leigh, the chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee which oversees the work of the NAO, said: "The trouble was that the MoD had not decided on its longer term strategy for repairing fast jets before embarking on the project.
"This was compounded because each side had a fundamental misunderstanding of the other's assumptions."
The Ministry of Defence and the Welsh authorities have been criticised over the construction of a multi-million pound hi-tech "super hangar" to repair RAF jet fighters which was abandoned within a year of opening.
RAF jet fighter: The MoD and the Welsh authorities are now working to establish a defence training academy in the super hangar. In a joint report, the National Audit Office (NAO) and the Wales Audit Office (WAO) said the Red Dragon project cost the taxpayer £113 million but failed to achieve any of the planned objectives.
The MoD hoped to achieve £263 million of efficiency savings by housing all its fast jet repairs under one roof while the Welsh authorities believed that they could create 4,000 new jobs at the site at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan.
The MoD and the Welsh authorities are now working to establish a defence training academy in the super hangar, which will bring over 5,500 jobs to the area, while it is also hoped to create an aerospace park on the site with a further 2,000 jobs.
In their report, the NAO and the WAO said the MoD and the Welsh authorities failed to work closely enough together and lacked understanding of each other's key planning assumptions.
Edward Leigh, the chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee which oversees the work of the NAO, said: "The trouble was that the MoD had not decided on its longer term strategy for repairing fast jets before embarking on the project.
"This was compounded because each side had a fundamental misunderstanding of the other's assumptions."
