UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The General Assembly finally gave a green light to start a $1.9 billion renovation of the U.N.’s landmark headquarters in New York after years of delays, a move welcomed Saturday by outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The 39-story glass-and-steel building has not seen a major overhaul in its 54-year existence and now violates safety and fire codes.

Stressing its “serious concern at the hazards, risks and deficiencies of the current conditions of the building which endanger the safety, health and well-being of staff, delegations, visitors and tourists,” the assembly late Friday night approved the budget committee’s plan to refurbish the building.

The so-called Capital Master Plan will allow preparatory work to begin immediately on the phased renovation which is to be completed by 2014 at a total revised budget of $1.88 billion. The assembly approved a $42 million appropriation for 2007 for the design and pre-construction phases, including finding space for U.N. staff who must move during the refurbishment.

Member states will have the option of paying in yearly installments or one lump sum, but the resolution also asks incoming Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who takes over on Jan. 1, to explore the possibility of private donor funding.

The United States will pay 22 percent of the cost – the largest share – which Congress must approve.

“Through the Capital Master Plan, U.N. headquarters will become a safer, healthier and more secure environment for staff, delegates, and visitors,” Annan’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. “It will become better equipped for adapting to change, and for using resources in sustainable and responsible ways.”

The building is expected to be renovated several floors at a time, from top to bottom, but U.N. officials say the first visible action will be a groundbreaking ceremony probably in June or July for a new conference facility.

The official in charge of the renovation effort, Louis Frederick Reuter IV, resigned in June saying he was frustrated by bureaucratic and political wrangling that have resulted in years of delay and massive cost overruns.

Much of Reuter’s job involved trying to cut through U.N. bureaucracy and persuade member states to move ahead. The Capital Master Plan had been repeatedly waylaid in the main U.N. budget committee and elsewhere, largely for political reasons, but it cleared the budget committee this week – and the General Assembly was the last hurdle.

AP-ES-12-23-06 2036EST