LOCKHEED MARTIN INKS MANAGEMENT DEAL FOR LIBERIA'S AIRPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONROVIA 000612 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAIR LI SUBJECT: LOCKHEED MARTIN INKS MANAGEMENT DEAL FOR LIBERIA'S AIRPORT ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Lockheed Martin has signed a limited-liability six-month contract with the Ministry of Transport to manage Roberts International Airport (RIA),enhance safety and security procedures, and develop ancillary revenue streams. While the existing agreement promises limited profits for Lockheed, company officials believe it could afford them exclusive access to an airport on the rise, if Delta Airlines begins direct flights or AFRICOM transfers its headquarters to Monrovia. At the same time, the President signed the long-awaited Liberian Airport Authority Act, which empowers the Liberian Civil Aviation Authority to manage RIA, and should make implementation of International Civil Aviation Organization standards easier. END SUMMARY. -------------- The First of Many -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Econoffs met August 19 with Michael O'Toole, senior program manager for air operations at Lockheed Martin, and James Ebanks, project manager for Roberts International Airport (RIA),to discuss the company's August 15 contract to manage RIA. Lockheed Martin and the Ministry of Transport signed a six-month "purchase order," which is more modest in scope than a formal management contract and limits Lockheed's liability in the event of safety or security issues. The contract is two-pronged: Lockheed Martin will improve the physical security and safety at RIA while developing a strategy to market the airport and identify new business lines. ¶3. (SBU) President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf signed the much-anticipated Liberian Airport Authority Act August 19, which grants the Liberian Civil Aviation Authority oversight of RIA and, implicitly, the right to grant a concession. But after the legislation languished for months in the National Legislature, Lockheed Martin and the GOL opted to circumvent the LCAA's limited authority by creating a purchase order for services rendered. Further, Lockheed's risk management team urged the company to minimize its exposure to an uncertain market by making modest commitments on a short-term basis. O'Toole anticipated that if all goes well, Lockheed would renew the purchase order and ultimately sign a long-term management contract. -------------- RIA Tomorrow -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Lockheed's entire management team, which will consist of no more than two people at a time, began work August 15 by announcing a list of "90-day deliverables": improvements to cargo handling, baggage screening, security screening, emergency response training and customer service. Ebanks, who was the deputy manager of Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport until early August, said initial procedural and policy reforms will have one aim: implementation of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) approval of a direct flight from the United States. With appropriate guidance and training, RIA will be able to accommodate a direct U.S. flight before the holiday season, he predicted. ¶5. (SBU) A potential Delta Airlines flight is only the first step in Lockheed's ambitious vision for RIA. O'Toole admitted that Lockheed Martin already has invested nearly $1 million in travel, staffing and feasibility studies, a sum the existing purchase order will not fully offset. Instead, Lockheed Martin views the purchase order as a gateway into lucrative business ventures at RIA. ¶6. (SBU) Lockheed intends to market RIA as a regional hub, increasing revenue through airport and passenger fees. O'Toole said both Emirates and Royal Jordanian Airlines have told Lockheed Martin they may commence direct flights to Monrovia, should the Delta flight prove successful. And future revenue need not be limited to commercial travel. Lockheed believes RIA could become a regional distribution center for cargo, supplanting the Freeport of Monrovia as the entry point for capital equipment and vehicles. Cargo storage, airplane maintenance and the leasing of airport space and storage to other corporate entities are other potential business lines. Finally, Lockheed still believes Liberia will host an AFRICOM presence and plans to be prepared to serve the mission with aviation services. -------------- The Characters of Liberian Aviation -------------- ¶7. (SBU) O'Toole, who has visited Liberia over a dozen times in the past three years, offered a candid assessment of the conflicting personalities who govern - and occasionally obstruct - Liberia's civil aviation industry. O'Toole characterized LCAA Director General Richelieu Williams as an overconfident man, quick to bear grudges over perceived slights to his authority, who possesses a naive conviction that a warm bilateral relationship and President Sirleaf's stature in the United States will outweigh security or MONROVIA 00000612 002 OF 002 safety concerns in TSA's decision to grant Delta's direct flight to Monrovia (although he may be coming around to seeing reality). Williams is frustrated in his belief that TSA holds him unjustly accountable for the airport: without the Airport Authority Act, he might persuade or cajole, but could not enforce reform at RIA. ¶8. (SBU) Williams, a former Lockheed employee, enthusiastically welcomed Lockheed, and assured Econoff during a conversation August 7 that their presence would help ensure the Delta flight. However, Acting RIA Managing Director Bill Jones objects to Lockheed's presence, preferring to retain the airport in Liberian hands. O'Toole believes Jones, an old friend of President Sirleaf, attempts to sideline Williams, and while their rivalry has impeded reforms in the past, it came to a head over the passage of the Airport Authority Act, a crucial pre-requisite for TSA's approval of the Delta flight. The President delayed signing the legislation after Jones attempted to persuade her to eliminate the LCAA's seat on the Liberian Airport Authority. ¶9. (SBU) O'Toole characterized Bill Jones as a skilled civil engineer with the ability to "get the job done." Lockheed Martin, cautious not to make enemies by exercising its new authority too bluntly, is determined to bring Jones to the table and use his expertise to enhance security and improve logistics at RIA. ¶10. (SBU) COMMENT: Lockheed Martin's frank information sharing and eager outreach to Post is a welcome signal that LCAA will begin to comply with TSA recommendations rather than finding ways to circumvent the process. Both the Secretary in her visit and CODEL Butterfield (especially Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security) made clear that while the USG is interested in assisting the GOL in accelerating its efforts for RIA to become compliant, the USG will not ignore security. These positive interventions have helped move the GOL. While it remains to be seen whether Lockheed Martin can implement its ambitious timetable, it is certain that upcoming TSA delegations will receive a warm welcome and helpful support from an airport manager determined to reconcile competing personalities in the service of a shared interest. ROBINSON