Department of Energy assessment of the Large Hadron Collider

This report summarizes the conclusions of the committee that assessed the cost estimate for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This proton-proton collider will be built at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics near Geneva, Switzerland. The committee found the accelerator-project cost estimate of 2.3 billion in 1995 Swiss francs, or about $2 billion US, to be adequate and reasonable. The planned project completion date of 2005 also appears achievable, assuming the resources are available when needed. The cost estimate was made using established European accounting procedures. In particular, the cost estimate does not include R and D, prototyping and testing, spare parts, and most of the engineering labor. Also excluded are costs for decommissioning the Large Electron-Positron collider (LEP) that now occupies the tunnel, modifications to the injector system, the experimental areas, preoperations costs, and CERN manpower. All these items are assumed by CERN to be included in the normal annual operations budget rather than the construction budget. Finally, contingency is built into the base estimate, in contrast to Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that explicitly identify contingency. The committee`s charge, given by Dr. James F. Decker, Deputy Directory of the DOE Office of Energy Research, was to understand the basis for the LHC cost estimate, identify uncertainties, and judge the overall validity of the estimate, proposed schedule, and related issues. The committee met at CERN April 22--26, 1996. The assessment was based on the October 1995 LHC Conceptual Design Report or ``Yellow Book,`` cost estimates and formal presentations made by the CERN staff, site inspection, detailed discussions with LHC technical experts, and the committee members` considerable experience