Congress approved
US$50 million for construction of the base, but the cost ended up exceeding $100 million. The Air Base was described by U.S. officials as the largest construction project led by the
United States Air Force. A report by the
Department of Defense Inspector General criticized the project for skirting congressional oversight, failing to complete an adequate site survey, and not constructing the base to meet safety, security, and other technical requirements, findings that were disputed by the Air Force and
U.S. Africa Command. The runway was constructed to accommodate both
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper armed drones as well as the much larger
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport airplanes. Construction was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018, but delays pushed the completion date to spring 2019. ==Operations==