MISSION BANGKOK'S REQUEST TO OCCUPY COMMERCIAL SPACE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001329 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMGT ABLD PREL TH SUBJECT: MISSION BANGKOK'S REQUEST TO OCCUPY COMMERCIAL SPACE VACATED BY USAID REFS: A)STATE 46087, B)BANGKOK 690 ¶1. SUMMARY: Bangkok is a rapidly growing regional post in critical need of additional functional office space. Post U.S. Direct Hire positions have grown by 35% in the last 10 years, and the Overseas Building Operations (OBO) estimated in their recent Master Planning exercise that Post requires a 40% increase in current functional space. Moreover, the Department has directed (Ref A) posts to address space constraints in preparation for the deployment of additional Foreign Service personnel. Until recently, Bangkok was on the OBO Master Building List ("Top 80") for a 2009 construction start. But with our target construction start date now postponed to 2023, we must now address the immediate critical need for additional office space for existing personnel, and for the near term expected growth. Post herein proposes a viable and cost effective solution in keeping with the Ref A mandate from Deputy Secretary Lew, and requests OBO's permission to enter into a short-term lease for commercial space being vacated by USAID. End Summary. An Urgent Need For Space ¶2. Bangkok is bursting at the seams. We are a regional platform serving not only EAP posts, but also SCA and NEA needs for State and 22 other agencies. To do this, we are operating out of three government-owned compounds we have possessed since the 1950s: The New Office Building (NOB) which solely houses our Chancery; the Existing Office Building (EOB) across the street from the NOB, which includes the old chancery building and several small annex operations; and the Rajdamri Compound, approximately 15 minutes away which houses our Government Services Office (GSO),Warehousing, and Facilities operations as well as several tenant activities and 5 houses. We have no office space left in the NOB Chancery. Our common conference rooms have been reduced from five to two in order to create more work stations. The EOB's primary building (the Mission's old ex-chancery) has been reconfigured and redesigned so many times that we have lost count. OBO recently decided that it would be too costly to renovate the EOB to bring it to code and that the building should be demolished. The Rajdamri compound is already beyond capacity. Bangkok's existing space is not sufficient to meet current needs, and yet its highly educated and inexpensive labor force has made it, and continues to make it, the logical location to expand and strengthen the Department's and the entire USG's regional support operations. This is detailed in Ref B's overview of the Bangkok management platform. We were already looking for creative space solutions when we received Deputy Secretary Lew's Ref A instruction to address space constraints in preparation for an increase in Foreign Service personnel due to the President's success in acquiring additional funds to expand the civilian capacity to undertake diplomacy and development. ¶3. For the past four years, Bangkok has been hopeful that its desperate need for office space would be addressed with the planned development of the Rajdamri Compound and related construction on the EOB Compound. With this year's realignment of the "Top 80," Bangkok's extensive development plan was moved from a 2009 project to a 2023 project. ¶4. In the past 10 years, the growth agencies have largely been various State elements which require office space on a government owned/long term lease compound. State numbers grew from 176 to 315 US Direct Hires. LES staff have grown from 770 to 1,300 in 10 years. In total, the Mission has grown from 467 US Direct Hires to about 610 in the last 10 years. This pace is not slowing: M/PRI's Rightsizing analysis has Bangkok currently needing 2,037 employees; OBO's recent master plan cited the need for a new 10 story office building, a 40% increase in our functional office space requirements. A 2023 construction start date would obviously not supply any new space until 2026 or beyond. ¶5. Indeed, one of the largest growth agents, recent and future, and key to the Secretary's plan to expand diplomacy and development capacity is the Resource Management Bureau's Global Financial Service Center Bangkok (GFSB) which resides in the EOB. GFSB processes the payroll for over 21,000 LES employees through 135 different compensation plans in 61 countries totaling an average of $15 million every two weeks. This is just one example of the work that GFSB does that has a global impact, and its staff and responsibilities grow every year. The Mission wants to provide them with space they need, but finds that we are not able to water the soup further. An Opportunity on the Horizon ¶6. Later this year, USAID will vacate four floors of the GPF Witthayu Tower A Building directly across the street from the NOB, and adjacent to the EOB. These four floors have a DS collocation waiver, and hardline upgrades. The GPF Building also houses Post's Health Unit, Foreign Commercial Service, Transnational Crime Affairs Section, and Foreign Agriculture Service. ¶7. These four floors would provide 2,679 square meters of office space to the Mission at a cost of $572,538 per year. At $213 a BANGKOK 00001329 002 OF 002 square meter per year for the existing lease, the cost is lower than nearby buildings. This space would provide office space for over 100 embassy personnel, and would allow us to relocate complete functions out of the NOB and EOB so the GFSB could expand, and NOB tenants could be realigned and have adequate space in the NOB. ¶8. If the space is returned to the landlord, there will be substantial costs incurred. The hardline must be dismantled from GPF before the space is returned to the landlord and is estimated to cost $300,000. The cost of establishing new hardline for a similar space is $1.5 million. The GPF space currently provides the necessary hardlining at no extra cost. ¶9. Post plans on moving the Regional Human Resources Office (RHRO), Public Affairs Office (PAO) and sections of GSO to the GPF building in order to reconfigure and maximize office space in our existing government-owned buildings. ¶10. RHRO will be moved from the NOB to GPF to accommodate the need for more non-CAA space in the NOB. The second floor of the NOB is the only floor with substantial non-CAA office space in the building. As the Embassy has grown both in terms of bilateral and regional responsibilities demand for management and administrative support staff for CAA entities has dramatically increased. This floor at the NOB was originally intended for 90 work stations, but as of today we have 123 people working in this space. Something has to give. The RHRO's 30 employees and requirement to interact with the general public for recruitment, make them the right choice to move to GPF. The extra space created by their departure will allow us to reconfigure the entire second floor of the NOB for better efficiencies and future growth, some of which we already know is on the way. ¶11. PAO is the most logical of all Embassy entities to move to the GPF. From the Information Resource Center, Fulbright, cultural exchanges and programs to interactions with the media, better public access improves public diplomacy. However, just as important is what PAO's vacated space in the EOB would mean to the current and future operations of the GFSB. Over the past four years GFSB has grown by 43%, and this year alone it is looking to add another 30 positions. Its seven-day a week operation processes four billion dollars a year in voucher payments and salaries. Most of its growth is in the Post Support Unit which focuses on off-shore voucher processing. This unit was created in 2004 to support Embassy Baghdad and a few distressed posts, but today supports 27 Embassies worldwide and is continuing to grow. The vacated PAO space is just what we need to accommodate this expansion. The GFSB is one of the most cost effective operations in the federal government, and its support is one of the Mission's top priorities. ¶12. Three sub-sections of GSO will move to GPF. Closer proximity to its customers in the NOB, EOB and GPF will make GSO more accessible and effective service providers. Moving these GSO elements from Rajdamri will also have a domino effect at the compound that will create much needed warehouse space. In 2008, a section of the GSO warehouse was given to ATO Asia in anticipation of a new warehouse that was planned for 2009. Now that construction has been pushed back until 2023 additional space is desperately needed, and by moving parts of GSO we can alleviate some of that pressure. ¶13. The window to take over this soon-to-be vacated lease is fast approaching. Post feels that by taking the opportunity to extend this lease for ICASS and State tenants, we can meet the existing space needs and be better positioned for future growth. To establish additional office space elsewhere from scratch, would cost well over $2 million and would not be adjacent to the EOB and NOB. ¶14. The ICASS Council and the RSO support this plan. The entire mission is excited about this opportunity to expand and strengthen our capacity for diplomacy and development. We therefore request OBO concurrence in this creative, cost-effective approach to meeting our space crisis by approving our request to enter into a short-term lease for office space. JOHN