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The rehabilitation of the runway at Liberia’s Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport was presented to the country as the most urgent task to safeguard the entry of tourists, but for two months, no progress has been made except for drainage works. The urgency of the work is unquestionable, but the decision chain taken to develop it is not.
The first uncertainty was caused by President Rodrigo Chaves, who spoke of a contract “like a tailor-made suit” with an overprice of nearly 1 billion pounds, for which he fired the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Luis Amador, and the Director of Civil Aviation, Fernando Naranjo. Now it turns out that the necessary repairs can be reduced by 5.5 million dollars, because the lower layer at the bottom of the runway is in good condition.
This was the conclusion reached by engineers at Meco (the winner of the $41.7 million contract) after a first evaluation. This calls into question the assessment made when writing the poster. Wasn’t there a way to know in advance what work would be required?
The fact that the runway was damaged much less than initially estimated was part of the reason the work was stalled, as the contractor proposed a design change that is awaiting approval from the Civil Aviation Administration. However, shockingly, the National Emergency Committee (CNE) and MOPT had no idea what they were contracting for, assumed the lower level was damaged, and awarded a larger job.
Even the offer of another company for 900 million pounds less (which prompted the president to talk about overpricing of the contract with Meco) is unfair if the restoration work could save another 5.5 million dollars. The difference is too big. The damage is not great, and it is known that the reasons are not those listed in the decree that allows the contracting of works through the emergency system (i.e. the emergency system).
In June 2023, the executive branch issued a decree to include airport works in the needs caused by Tropical Storm Bonnie a year ago, in July 2022. However, natural phenomena did not deteriorate the runway. Civil aviation experts themselves warned in a technical report: the damage was not caused or accelerated by natural phenomena.
The decree allows for emergency contracting without the intervention of the Comptroller General of the Republic and now we know that, despite the doubts raised by the President regarding nearly $2 million in overcosts, the work could indeed have been awarded to another contract, saving $5.5 million.
Perhaps the depth of the damage could only be confirmed by lifting the surface, but Meco did not need to lift all of it because the airport continued to operate and only the hydraulic works progressed. This situation suggests that tests can be carried out to determine the true size of the proposed works, rather than awarding the works based on the presumption of greater damage.
There are, then, numerous legitimate doubts. Unfortunately, explanations so far from all concerned have been very brief. For now, we know that the price is not what the President initially criticized, but it is not the cheapest either. The deterioration is not due to the so-called accelerated hiring, but it allows hiring to proceed without review by the Office of the Auditor General. The speed contrasts with a two-month paralysis of work, partly due to rains but also thanks to the new design required by the good condition of the track’s lower layer. Hopefully, the simplification of the work will at least help it to be completed on schedule in time for the next peak season. More time will be needed to clarify the doubts and contradictions.
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