VZCZCXYZ0007
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0257/01 1042118
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 142118Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0254
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 8095
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3500
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ APR LIMA 3151
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4262
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC 0632
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS QUITO 000257 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON BTIO EAIR EAID EINV ECIN EC MARR MCAP
SUBJECT: DESPITE DELAYS, QUITO HOPES TO COMPLETE ROAD TO NEW AIRPORT 
BY AUGUST 2010 
 
REFTEL:  Quito 70 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Representatives from Quito's municipal government 
told EconOff on March 31 that, despite delays, they still hoped to 
complete a road to Quito's new airport in time for the airport's 
scheduled inauguration on August 10, 2010.  The representatives 
detailed progress in securing land and financing for the project, 
but said that challenges in building bridges for the new road had 
led to delays in awarding a construction contract.  The 
representatives will meet with construction companies in the U.S. in 
April 2009 and hope to award a contract and begin construction by 
August 2009.  End summary. 
 
Importance of the New Airport Access Road 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) On March 31st, EconOff met with representatives from Corpaq, 
the municipal entity that manages Quito's current airport and the 
construction of Quito's new airport, along with a representative 
from the Empresa Municipal de Movilidad y Obras Publicas (EMMOP-Q), 
the city's public works agency.  The representatives provided an 
update on efforts to build a road to Quito's new airport, which is 
currently under construction on the outskirts of Quito (reftel). 
The airport is scheduled to become operational in October 2010, but 
there is an inaugural flight ceremony scheduled for August 10, 2010. 
 The city representatives said they hoped to complete the new road 
in time for this event.  The existing road to the new airport takes 
a minimum of 45 minutes from downtown Quito, and much longer with 
traffic.  The city plans to build a new access road that officials 
say will cut the travel time to 15 minutes.  Airport officials 
acknowledge that the existing road is inadequate for the anticipated 
traffic to the new airport, and they are concerned about a public 
backlash if travelers experience lengthy delays and missed flights 
due to traffic problems. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Although the new airport project is currently on schedule, 
the access road is not part of that concession.  The road is instead 
the responsibility of the municipality of Quito.  City 
representatives told EconOff that they had all but finished securing 
financing for the road project with a $120 million loan from the 
Andean Development Corporation (CAF), which they said would cover 
the entire cost of the project.  The representatives said they had 
also nearly finished acquisition of the land for the new road.  They 
acknowledged that some details about the size of the indemnification 
payments to landholders had to be resolved, but they suggested that 
the city has a strong legal capacity for expropriating land, and 
this would not impede their ability to start construction. 
 
Bridges Pose an Engineering Challenge 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The biggest remaining challenge to the road project is the 
construction of two bridges along the new route.  The bridges cross 
over high river gorges, and pose unusual engineering challenges due 
to the mountainous terrain.  The city solicited bids from 
contractors in Fall 2008, but found that, despite receiving bids 
from companies in Colombia, Brazil, and France, none of the 
interested companies had experience with this kind of project.  The 
representatives say they have since learned of a bridge being built 
in Nevada near the Hoover Dam that closely matches the requirements 
of the airport road.  The Ecuadorian Embassy in Washington has made 
arrangements for city representatives to travel to the U.S. in April 
2009 to meet with representatives from the Nevada project.  Embassy 
FCS staff are identifying other U.S. construction companies for them 
to meet during this trip as well. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The representatives expressed hope that new technologies 
and engineering methods being used in the U.S. would allow them to 
complete the road project on time.  They did not appear to be naive 
about the challenges faced in meeting their target date, however. 
The current timeline is to solicit new construction bids in April 
2009, and to award a contract and begin construction by August 2009. 
 When questioned by EconOff about the likelihood of actually 
completing a project of this scope and complexity in twelve months, 
the representatives replied "August 2010 is a goal, not a deadline." 
 The representatives said that they would consider all appropriate 
bids, even if they did not fit within the desired twelve-month 
timeframe.  In previous conversations, representatives from the new 
airport have suggested that they might delay the airport's opening 
if the road was not completed on time.  The city representatives 
were dismissive of this possibility, however, expressing full 
confidence that the airport would open on time.  The representatives 
 
said that if the new road was not ready, then travelers would simply 
have to adjust their plans to allow extra travel time. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Embassy believes that it is unlikely that the 
municipality will complete the new road by August 2010.  If the new 
airport opens with only the existing road in place, it will likely 
lead to negative press coverage and public complaints.  But that 
could be mitigated if the municipality can point to a largely 
completed new road that would not only provide access to the airport 
but could relieve some congestion on the existing road.  Since for 
technical and political reasons it does not appear possible to keep 
the old airport open after the new airport is operational, it 
appears that travelers to and from downtown Quito will have to 
tolerate the difficult existing route until the new access road is 
completed. 
 
 
Hodges