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Date:April23,2015ThewhitepaperissuedtodaybytheDenverAuditorsOfficecontainsmisleadingconclusionsregardingthecostoftheHotelandTransitCenter(HTC)atDenverInternationalAirport(DIA).Firstandforemost,itismisleadingtosuggesttheHTCprojecthasexperienceda40percentincreaseduetocostoverruns.SomeadditionalworkunrelatedtotheHTCwasaddedtotheprogramatalaterdatethatwasneverincludedintheoriginalbudgetestimates,makingtheAuditorsgroupingofcostsdistorted.Wewouldhaveclarifiedthiswiththeauditorpriortothereleaseofthisdocumentifwehadbeenaffordedtheopportunity.TheauditorsaccountingandcostprojectionsfortheHTCcombinedcostsrelatedtobaggagesystem,terminal/concoursetrainsystemimprovements,roadsandbridges,andotherworkconstructedforthebenefitoftheairport,beyondtheHTC.Thisinterpretationresultsinacalculationthatisnotanaccuraterepresentationofhowtheprojectitselfhasprogressed.MostofthisworkwasaddedlatersoDIAcouldminimizedisruptionstopassengersandtakeadvantageoftheefficienciesofhavingthesamecontractordothiswork.Itshouldbenotedthattheauditor,inthe2014PerformanceAuditofHotelandTransitCenter,recognizedthenecessityoftheseprojectsregardlessoftheHTC.Secondly,thetiming,toneandcontentofthewhitepaperaresuspect:

Noneoftheinformationintheauditorsdocumentisnew.Allprojectcostsandaccountinghavebeensharedwiththepublic,pressandCityCouncilthroughouttheyearslongproject.Infact,estimatedcostshavenotchangedsinceApril2014.

Theauditorintentionallychosetoissueanunofficial,politicalwhitepaperinsteadofconductingthemoretraditional,formalandprofessionalperformanceauditlessthantwoweeksbeforetheMay5municipalelection.

InApril2014,thecityandDIAcompletedariskassessmentthatconcludedthatthefinalcostofalloftheworkunderwaycouldbe510percentoverthe2013contractedbudget.DIAhasbeenverytransparentaboutthisandpubliclyshareditwiththecommunity,theauditorandDenverCityCouncil.DIAhasworkedhardtocontrolcostshowever,duetotheregionsstrongeconomicrecoveryhashadhighermaterialandlaborcosts.Additionally,someunforeseenitemsandthefasttracknatureoftheprojecttomeetRTDsscheduledidcontributetothisprojectedincrease.ItshouldalsobenotedthattheprojectisnotbeingfundedbytaxpayerdollarsandDIAsoverallfinancialpositionisstrong.NothinghaschangedsinceDIAlastannouncedtheprojectedincreasein2014.Today,theprojectremainswithinthebudgetdisclosedlastyear.ThefollowinginformationclearlyshowstheprogressionofcostsassociatedwiththeHotelandTransitCenterandincludesaseparateaccountingoftheothercapitalprojects.TheprojectisnearingcompletionandisonscheduleforthehoteltoopenandbegingeneratingrevenuethisNovemberwiththestationreadytoacceptpassengerswhentheEastRailLinebeginsservicein2016.

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2010

PreliminaryEstimate

2013ContractSignedwithContractortoBuildHotelandTransitCenter

2014Announcedriskassessmentprojecting510%increase

2015CurrentProjectionforProjectCompletion

HotelandTransitCenter

$500M $544M $571 $598M $580$586MOtherCapitalImprovements*

$0M $75M $78 $82M $78$81M

RTDraillinecosts** $26M $53M $56$59M $56$58M*Othercapitalimprovementsincludesimultaneouslyextendingtheterminaltrainstorageareatoincreasecapacity,rebuildinglevels4and6roadwaybridgesandotherworkthattakesadvantageofcostanddisruptionefficiencies.Noneofthisadditionalworkisrequiredforthehotelortransitcenter,butinsteadsupportsthefutureneedsoftheairportandsoisaccountedforseparately.**LitigationunderwaytodetermineRTD/DIAcostshare,butDIAplannedforthefullamountasaprudentmeasure.