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But, is all that money spent - which will total at 11.1 million dollars really worth it? That is, will contributors take a loss? In part 3, Jules Vasquez gets to the meat of the matter:

Lateral stability - that's what these cross braces are supposed to provide to the David L McKoy building. They were installed along the length and across the width of the building to brace it laterally. And then this brace frame is built on the back - the structure - the engineers say will, quote, "transfer all lateral loads here in the event of a category 3 hurricane or earthquake."

It's a freakish structure - jammed unto the back of the building like a bulging spine - but it is being maximized to create more office space for the tenants who've already rented space in the building.

Roberto Allen - the engineer who was the Contract Administrator for the Social Security Board scoffed at the structure and all the retrofitting - he told us on the phone that it's overkill. He says the size of the steel structure alone gives it stability.

It was his duty to report on the works to the former SSB Building Committee - but the relationship between him and Fabros Construction was contentious. These emails obtained by 7News show some of his reservations.

Much of the discord was over what are known as variation orders - basically requests for more money to complete the project. At least four of them came - like this one for three quarters million dollars - and board member Juliet Thimbriel says she cursed at each one. She felt that the contractor had underbid - and was then adding charges retroactively.

This internal SSB email also expresses concerns about another further payment, saying for this variation requesting 181 thousand dollars more that too much money had been paid out to Fabro. The author notes that materials were not on site or in transit.

This document shows the original contract price and the cost of variation #3 - almost a million dollars. It shows a contractor either in over his head - or who could not deliver the building for the price he bid at. For his part Fabro said that the design was flawed and the modifications he had to make were to correct it during construction.

He later wrote to the SSB, "there is no denying that the improvements are excellent and should have been included in the building plans from the very start." Fabro also says that Allen failed to report to the board many difficulties he encountered with the design. When it was installed, the new board terminated Allen:

Lawrence Ellis, Director - SSB Board
"When we came on board and our initial meeting, we met with the project administrator and the contractor to familiarize ourselves and after a couple of meetings we realized that we are not on the same page. And the fact that the building was still not finished because it was supposed to have been finished already and when we're trying to get answers as to why it was not finished yet, we found that there were many delays and many things that were not up to standard."

Not up to standard - but they may have had a different standard in mind - because the design specifications did not include fireproofing or fire hydrants, for example. And the design also did not say that it had to be resistant to a category 3 storm and an earthquake - the type which has never hit Belmopan.

Reporter
"Are you all in effect trying to improvise and rigamajig the structure?"

Lawrence Ellis, Director - SSB Board
"No, it's not rigamajig, it's works that should've been done initially. It's just being done now. The building is safe, it's going to be safe and we are not throwing good after bad, this building will be profitable, this building is going to be a shining benefit for the contributors of this social security fund."

All that will cost Social Security just under 3 million dollars more of workers' money. Which does not include the repairs that Fabros Construction has to do as part of the Defects Liability period - such as sealing this roof - and fixing cracks in the cement:

Deborah Ruiz, CEO - Social Security Board
"We have because of the heat; a couple windows have shattered and things like that. The contractor has been making those repairs."

Still, despite all this, Ruiz says she is confident that the workers will get a fair return on their investment:

Deborah Ruiz, CEO - Social Security Board
"We would have realized our full in 7 years so it's just pushed back 10 years in the long term a building of this magnitude will last another 50 to 60 years of rental income."

Reporter
"Are you all throwing good after bad?"

Lawrence Ellis, Director - SSB Board
"No, definitely not, you only throw good money after bad when there will never be a good outcome. This building will have a good outcome, this building will have a profitable return for the long-term branch, this building will be beneficial for the people that pay into the fund."

And in the conclusion tomorrow night, Jules Vasquez presents the conclusions, the bottom line of all that went wrong at David L McKoy - plus, he'll ask those tough questions you've been waiting for.