DUBAI GOV'T REMAINS WILLING TO ENGAGE ON BUILDING NOB FOR

UNCLAS DUBAI 000094 SIPDIS DEPT FOR OBO/PE/SM; DS/PSD/CAT, DS/PSD/PCB (D. REDABUGH); OBO/OM/AM/NEA (RUBEN ALCANTARA); NEA/SA/EX/PMA (HELEN REED-ROWE) ABU DHABI FOR AMB, ROS, ESC,FMM, FMO CAIRO FOR RDSE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC KSEO ABLD AMGT TC SUBJECT: DUBAI GOV'T REMAINS WILLING TO ENGAGE ON BUILDING NOB FOR CONSULATE REF: A) STATE 225187 B) DUBAI 4928 This is an action request -- See para 6. ¶1. Consul General met December 20 with Sultan bin Sulayem (SBS), the Dubai government's point person for the proposed NOB for ConGen Dubai, to review the points raised in reftel. Following is a summary of the discussion, which was favorable overall. ¶2. Contractors: SBS said there were three US companies he was currently working with (on other projects in Dubai who could be interested in the proposed NOB project: Parsons, KBR, and Bechtel, all major, well-known entities. Regarding the CAA point raised in para 7 of reftel, SBS said he "completely understood" that the selected contractor would be given classified information that would figure into the cost of the project but which could not be made available to the Dubai government. (Note: reftel mentioned that OBO could provide a list of already-cleared contractors currently doing work with OBO who could be contacted to provide a competitive bid. Post would appreciate receiving that information so it can be shared with the Dubai authorities.) ¶3. SED documentation/CD: SBS thanked us for providing the CD and said he was certain that, while it showed a building that was larger than what would be needed for the Consulate, it would be useful in giving his planners and architects a better sense of what would be involved in the project. ¶4. Scope of project: SBS balked at the idea (expressed in paras 2 and 3 of reftel) that Dubai would pay for outbuildings (including a warehouse annex),fit-out and interior furnishings. He said that what he was proposing was building, to USG standards, a basic 4,000 GSM office building, surrounded by a perimeter wall that included compound access control. Any outbuildings and all but the most basic interior furnishings would need to be provided at USG expense; even communication and computer lines would be best supplied and installed by the USG, though this should not be difficult because the building would be outfitted by the cleared US contractor with conduit. (Note: SBS's position on these issues strikes us as reasonable. With the Embassy Abu Dhabi warehouse less than an hour and a half a way by car, Dubai does not currently require a warehouse of its own, and we see little logic to compelling the Dubai government to construct one on the relatively small (6 acre) plot in question. Similarly, given that we are talking about an effort to remedy an unacceptable security situation, we do not believe the project should be made contingent on the landlord providing interior furnishings. If necessary, post could utilize furniture from our existing facility.) ¶5. While he was somewhat more cautious about the cost and scope of the project than he had been in previous conversations, SBS made it clear that Dubai remained ready to work with us on this proposal. He reiterated that he looked forward to receiving a more detailed plan that he could put out to his contractors for at least an initial cost estimate. He added that, while Dubai remained willing to build a new consulate building and then rent it back to us indefinitely, Dubai would strongly prefer an approach that would allow ownership of the property to pass to the U.S. once a sufficient number of "lease" payments had been made to cover the cost of construction. Action Request -------------- ¶6. Per para 6, reftel, post requests that Department initiate the necessary planning process so that we can move forward toward formalizing an arrangement with the appropriate parties in Dubai.