MONTROVIA – President Joseph Nyuma Boachey has launched a full-scale investigation into the recent blackouts at Roberts International Airport (RIA) and has ordered immediate corrective actions and long-term solutions to protect Liberia’s major international gateways from future blackouts.
The president’s move resulted in a very embarrassing incident on March 25, when a bird attack on an airport transformer caused a sudden blackout, causing short periods of crippling the operation of the terminal, causing public outrage. The runway and VIP lounge were not affected, but the outage raised serious concerns about the reliability of critical infrastructure at one of the nation’s most important facilities.
In response, President Boaches formed a high-level committee led by his national security adviser, CLLR. Kofi Woods, with a clear mission: get to the bottom of what’s wrong, take responsibility for accountability, and provide a power blueprint that will never be interrupted at the airport.
As of Wednesday, April 3, the committee was engaged in an ongoing high stakes meeting with the management of the Liberian Airports Authority (LAA) aimed to understand the technical, environmental and administrative factors behind the incident. This engagement is expected to bring a comprehensive report and a set of recommendations to the President in the coming days.
“The president made it clear. This cannot happen again. The airport must be protected and its operations must be stable without delay,” the senior executive’s residence told investigators in Liberia on conditions of anonymity.
Blackout route
At a hearing of the Senate Joint Committee on April 2, Jonathan Enders, managing director of LAA Associate Technical Services, revealed that the blackout on March 25 was caused by a bird strike that damages major transformers and automatic forwarding switches (ATS).
According to Enders, the birds were attracted to indiscriminate garbage dumped around the airport. He dumped waste in illicit locations and turned his fingers to the nearby “tasteless taste” community and airport workers residents to effectively create bird magnets near sensitive infrastructure.
“This is a peak season for big birds,” Enders told the Senate. “Unfortunately, interference with the transformer exceeded our immediate control. But the situation is now exacerbated by human activities that must be dealt with seriously.”
After the strike, the airport switched to a private generator system and called on the Liberia Electric Corporation (LEC) to assess the extent of the damage. The final evaluation, conducted on March 30, revealed additional damage from a surge in power generation that further infringes several components, including relays, synchronizers, fuses and ATS.
LEC recommends overhauling
At the same Senate hearing, Acting LEC Managing Director Thomas Z. Gonkalwon said he is recommending a full review of the airport’s power infrastructure, including redesigning the ATS system and installing bypass connections. This, he noted, ensures ongoing power in the event of future failures or emergencies.
Gonkarwon also revealed plans to deploy a standby transformer to RIA to act as a backup in the event of a future outage. “It was a wake-up call,” he said. “We must build resilience in the assets of the country, especially the airports.”
Long-term energy planning
LAA has already implemented a variety of long-term solutions to prevent recurrence. Acting Managing Director Jello Meld Cole revealed that authorities are in the process of procuring new 3-megawatt transformers to reduce their reliance on grids across the country and increase energy reliability at airports.
Additionally, RIA’s backup generator capacity has increased to 2.5 megawatts to ensure that critical areas such as terminal buildings, control towers and VIP lounges continue to operate fully during future power destruction.
Merd-Cole also confirmed that LAA is investigating renewable energy options, including solar, as part of a broader push to diversify airport energy sources and increase environmental sustainability.
Boundary Cleanup and Relocation Plans
The committee is also expected to address the underlying environmental issues that have contributed to the bird attack. The LAA said it had already cleared one illegal dump site near the airport, but discovered that another illegal dump site had been born behind the facility. Since then, they have worked with the Liberian Land Authority to relocate residents who have invaded the airport’s boundaries, thereby contributing to ongoing sanitation and safety risks.
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“The blackouts revealed not merely technical negligence, but systematic negligence in the way land, waste and critical utility management,” said a security source who was well-versed in the committee’s work. “This investigation is not just about fixing the wires, it’s about correcting the governance.”
Legislative Monitoring
Meanwhile, Sen. Saa H. Joseph, chairman of the Senate Joint Committee on Hydrocarbons, Energy and the Environment, declared that all witnesses who testified remained under oath until the committee’s full investigation was concluded. He praised President Boaches for his swift and decisive movement in commissioning parallel probes at the executive level.
“This is about the safety and security of our citizens and the reputation of our country,” Sen. Joseph told reporters. “We hold everyone accountable and we look forward to our executives acting on our recommendations as well.”
