0-/ Oi 20 -2LJ
COALITION PROV ISIONAL A UTilORfTY
BAGH DAD
.. -·~ .
"' . ... :
INFO M E MO
January 19, 2004
fOR:
THE ADMI N ISTRATOR
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Darrell Trent, Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Ministry ofTram;portation
Ministry of TransportatiOn Issues Update
,(b)(6)
AVIATION
• H a jj Fli~hts Bt. ~in . On January I R, 2004, the first Iraqi Hajj pilgrims boarded flights in
Kuwall en route to Jeddah, Saud1 Arabia. Early in the week, it became clear that the
company chosen to deliver the nights for the Hajj wa~ going to be in default of lls
contractual obligations. Three days before flights should have begun, the company was
only able to provide proof of one in!iured plane which d id not include passenger insurance.
The Iraqi High H <~jj Committee dedded to cancel the contract and requested the ussistance
of the CPA to come to their aid in resolving this cns1s. CPA Mmistnes of Transportation,
Foreign Affairs and the CPA head of the Ha.ii Committee worked in a concerted effort w1th
the Head of the Iraq High Hajj Committee to reso lve a multitude of issues. The services of
a reputable air charter broker in Dubui were engaged and the work began mcludmg
delivering six airworthy and fully insured aircraft from reliable carriers. review of four
contracts by CPA General Counsel and signature by the Head of Iraq High HajJ
Committee, waiving of the Saudi llajj Bond , royalties and landing fees, and waiving of
Kuwait passenger tax, allocation of land ing slots in Saudi Arabia, and coordination of
ground and air operations at the border, Kuwait civil aviation and Saudi c ivi l aviatiOn. fn
four days. the capability to transport 30.000 passl!ngers was completed and the! first flight
took off. The schedule to transport the required amount of passengers works within the
time hmit. Assistance ""as provided by the t•' Armored Divis1on and CJTF-7 who
delivered blankets to pilgrims delayed on the ground. The U.S. Embassies 111 Riyadh and
Kuwa1t also ass1sted in expediting wa1 vers and gain ing quick coopenuion with Kuwait and
Saudi Governments. The flow of passengers to the Kuwait border is being coordinated
w1th the flight schedule and the process will continue over the next ten days unlllthc pilgrims nrc all in .leddah.
• Aviation Transition Plan Drafted .
·nte CPA MoT ::wiation team has distributed the dr:
" Iraqi Aviation Transition Pgn "within CPA and C.JTF-7 . The plan is focu~ed on
p~g Iraq s General Establishment of Civil Aviation (GECA) to take control of all
c1vil aviation matters by July I, 2004. TI1e plan ts broken down mto 20 mterrclated
activities that w ill. when completed. provide the foundation for civil aviation in Iraq.
• S kyLink Training of Iraqi C ivil A\'iation Authuril)' (CAA). Sky Link briefed the CAA
on its proposal to train CAA employees as part of transition preparation. ff approved. the
!mining would directly support efforts hy CPA to transition responsibility for civil uviation
to Iraqi personnel.
(b)(5)
UNCLASSIFIED
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UNCLASS IFIED
• Dt.'livery of Ita lia n Meteorology Equipme nt Next week, basic meteorological
equipment totaling $1.2 million will he delivered to support 13aghdad International Airport
(B IAJ') commercial aviation operations. CPAIMoT will coord inate with the Oil-for-Food
program to provide escort for the deli very of the meteorology equipment from Jordan to
l31AP. At the Jordan-Iraq border, the escort •c.·un and three Iraqi Meteorological
Organit.allon staffers will verify the cargo and escon it to A lAP. On a related note, MoT
staff pres1ded over continuing renovations of the :VIeteorological station at BJAP to
improve local weather monitoring for departures and arrivals.
• ID's for Iraqi Airways E mployees. MoT staff established new vcuing and badging
system to enahle Iraqi Airways ground handlers, baggage handlers. maintenance engineers,
passenger escorts. and ground station personnel to opcralc at BIAP. 'l11is week. over 48
b ad ge~ were issued for Iraqi Airways personnel.
• MoT/PMO Coordination. MoT staff coordinated with PMO and Contracting Office to
confirm funding sources (FYOJ Supplememal, Iraqi 2003 and 2004 budgets) for successful
execution of planned aviation projects. The MoT aviat ion tearn ant icipates limited
cxpcnd it u r~s for 2"0 quarter, 2004. All expt:nditure!' arc currently forecast fo r 3'd quarter,
2004.
• Airpurt Scope of Wurk. The Anny Corps of Engineers discussed with the MoT aviation
team on a prospective Request fo r Funds (RFF) to develop airport assessments, clarify
scope of work. and organize time lines. The Anny will fo llow-up to veri fy their capabilities
on BIAP reconstruction.
• DilL C oordinatio n. DHL is working with MoT staff to enable lraqt Airways mechanics
to assist DHL in the maintenance of ground handling equipment and cargo.
• Royal J orda nia n Concerns. This week, MoT staff met with the RJ Sta tion Manager and
two RJ Senior Captains to discuss improving navigational link:tges between Amman and
Baghdad. including strengthening the VSAT/ AFT coverage in Western Iraq. MoT staff
conti nues to train Iraqi Civi l Aviation Authority employees for VSAT insta llation and
maintcnam:e to strengthen voice and data linkage hctwcen air traffic controllers and pilots.
RAILROADS =f< b)(2),(b)(3):10 usc §130b,(b)(6)
• Railway C ollision Closes Baghdad-Uasrah l.inc. t\ head-on collision hetwecn two
freight train:; occurred on .January 16, 2004 ~olll h of Nasiriyah. One train was u
south hound trnin of track materials and the second was a northbound milita ry t•ontainer
train. Three locomoti ve drivers were fa tally injured and that several of the five Iraqi
Republic Railway ( IRR) policemen on the mi litary train were ~c r iously injured. A
preliminary assessment indicates that the Nasiriyah srarion staff improperly allowed the
~outhbound train to depan without waiting fo r the arriv:-~1 of the northbound L rain, "' hich
"as running ahout o ne hour late. Fog in the area may also have been a contributing factor.
IRR managers have retumed to Baghdad from the scene and a full report should be
available by January 20'11
•
• Turkish Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) Delivery. ·n1e first tram load of LP(i from Turkey
has urrived by rail at the download facility at Wa'eyliya (midway between Mosul and
Rab iya). 1lw; arrival follows three trains of diesel received at Wa'eyl iya from Turkey.
UNCLASSIFIF.D
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UNCLASSI FIED
• Train Repair A~sessmcnl An lraqt Republic Raihvay management team in~pected rhe
line between Baghdad am.l Basrah, identifying operational wagons und locomotives w hich
had been previously uni d~ntified or set a~idc for minor repairs. The team ulso discovered a
substantial n umber of container wagons for usc. and at a Sa mawah workshop, identified 13
locomotives which require minor allention :md repair. ·n1c Dutch are working in Samawah
with the Iraqi Republic Railway to renovate ra ilw<~y facilities.
• Planned Supplemental-funded Rcnovatiuns. MoT staff and PMO's Railway Program
Manager visited the Iraqi Republic Railway's Shalschia Shops and the Central Stores to
inspect and assess planned renovattons.
• Iraq Port Task FCircc. The task force wi ll meet on January 20, 2004, to fi nalize ta~ k L-r.L7-.=-----t
ents designed to improve port operations. A report summarizing the tasks will b
• TranSJXlr1ation Minister Por1 Visit. On January 15. 2003. the Iraqi Minister of
Transportation. Behnam Polous. vistted all five Iraqi pon s with CPA staff. He met with
officials from CPA South, the pon operators for Umm Qasr and Khour Al-Zubatr and o ther
coalition personnel. His input and feedback.
• Grain T erminal l>isdaargc. The 45,000-ton motor vessel Yi Hai d ischarged 6. 782 tons of
grai n in a single day.
• N avstur I Leaving lJmm Qasr. Tugs have been connected up to Navstnr I ready to tow
the ship out to discharge the cargo and on for scrapping in Pakistan. Prior to being seized
by Coalition forces. Navstar I had smuggled o il from Iraq.
• U mm Qas r 's Berth 12. A US Army troop has left the new pon ' s berth 12. thereby
enabling commercial u~age of the pier and adjacent property.
• Dred ging al Khawr Az Zubay r. Maersk Co. has donated a new engme compressor fo r
the dredging ship Ramalah, which will enable the Ramalah to resume dredging operations
at the port of Khawr A/. Zubayr.
SU RFACE TRANSPORT
• PRB Action o n O il-fur-Food. MoT staff submillcd to PRH a Ut-.-approvcd contract for
truck part!> for L:md Transport Company as part of O il-for-Food program. PRB tabled
mot io n untillraqt Ministry ofTran:-.portation (MoT) convinces lraqt Mimstry of Finance
that PRll funding is required and that Iraqi MoT fundmg is unavailable for this p r~ject.
MoT is working with Iraqi counterparts to develop a rcsolutton to fund these needed spare
pans.
• Truck Transportation Assistance for O il-for-Fond. The Iraqi Ministry of Transport has
signed an agreement with Oil-for-Food to provide two transportation sp e~.:ta li sts at e:1 ch
border crossing. 1l1ese rep re ~e ntat ives wi ll be co-located with the Oil-for-1-ood border
offices and asstst in truck transportation matters.
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SECURITY
• F PS S alaries. MoT completC!d 70% of the FPS Turnover of Authonty (TOA) data
compreh en~ively listing FPS personnel in the Minist ry o f Transportation. to enable
payment of Min istry FPS officers during March 2004.
• Streamlinin g Access fo r Iraqi civil av iatio n l\>Orkcrs. MoT updated the Checkpoint
Entry Control Point tECP) Access Roster used for heightened security threat levels. to
enable civil aviation workers to operate the airport. Also. the Sky Link shuttle bus will
begin transporting Iraqi civil aviation workers from Chcc.:kpotnt I to the main passenger
tenninal every 30 minutes.
• B IAP Security Request fo r Informatio n (RF I). MoT sent an RFI to C.JTF-7 and the 5'11
Corps to identify any shortfalls in BIAP perimeter security and Man Portable Air Defense
(MAN PAD) suppression measures.
ATTAC I1MENTS: NONE
COORD I ATION: Department Heads
Reviewed: (b)(2),(b)(3):10 USC §1306,(b 6)
Drafted (b)(2),(b)(3):10 usc §130b,(b)(6)
lJNCLASS IFI F.D
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