The tower, which is slightly taller than an American football field, has an estimated cost of $2.7 billion, almost twice the amount spent to build the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, according to a new report from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The cost escalation is staggering considering that just five years ago NASA awarded engineering firm Bechtel a $383 million contract to build and supply the second Mobile Launcher (ML-2), with a completion date of March 2023.

But this period has long passed and Bechtel has not yet started producing metal structures.

NASA’s own estimate put the tower project at a cost of $1.8 billion and was due to be completed by September 2027. But a new report released Monday suggests that estimate is likely outdated.

“Based on our analysis, the cost could be even higher due to the significant amount of construction that remains to be completed,” the document signed by Deputy Inspector General George A. Scott said.

It will be recalled that the US space agency, in accordance with the direct instructions of Congress, ordered the construction of a launch tower to support the Block 1B, an improved version of the SLS rocket. It combines the existing main stage of the rocket with a larger and more powerful second stage known as the Exploration Upper Stage, developed by Boeing.

NASA plans to use this improved version of the SLS starting with the Artemis IV mission, which aims to place the manned Orion spacecraft and the Gateway lunar station into orbit around Earth’s natural satellite. Later on, this mission will enable a second manned landing on the lunar surface under the Artemis program.

The planned launch date for Artemis IV is 2028, but a new report confirms the widely held belief that those dates are unlikely.