DynCorp International has pulled out of a major airport project in Southern Nigeria, citing non-payment and other problems with the state government that sponsored the project. The design-build project, valued at $300 million when announced in late 2005, has experienced significant delays and logistics problems since its start in early 2006.

The greenfield Akwa Ibom International Airport project was to be a major air transport hub for Western Africa, including a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility (MRO) for the region. Falls Church, Va.-based DynCorp planned to operate the MRO after completion of construction. Work on the $125-million first phase of the airport was about 40% completed when DynCorp evacuated its personnel in mid- June.

DynCorp spokesman Douglas Ebner says the firm sent a letter of “termination for cause” to the Akwa Ibom government on June 23, 2008. Ebner says the firm had for months been documenting lack of payment and other concerns. These include non-performance of actions by the government to facilitate the project, as well as security concerns at the site. “This was not a surprise to them,” he says. “We had been documenting our concerns for some time.” Ebner declined to discuss possible losses on the job, and  says DynCorp has no plans to return to the project.

Attempts to contact Nigerian officials were unsuccessful. A state government newspaper in late July quoted Akwa Ibom state Gov. Godswill Akpabio as saying that the state was in negotiations with three unidentified international construction firms to take over the project “while we pursue our legal rights to ensure that over-payment for any job not done is recovered [so] we would not lose any money.”