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http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/070/nation/US_expects_to_award_massive_contract_to_rebuild_Iraq+.shtml Boston Globe March 11, 2003 POSTWAR PLANS US expects to award massive contract to rebuild Iraq By Peter Slevin and Mike Allen, Washington Post WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration, preparing what would be the most ambitious US rebuilding project since the aftermath of World War II, expects in coming days to award a construction contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to begin remaking Iraq, officials said yesterday. The massive umbrella contract, the first to be awarded, would pay for construction and repairs to roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and mosques, officials said. Other large deals are under negotiation to jump-start a reconstruction effort that would follow an overthrow of President Saddam Hussein. Several US construction giants -- including the Bechtel Group Inc., Halliburton Co., and Fluor Corp. -- were invited to bid for the work on an emergency basis. Analysts said the companies hope to win the contract and position themselves for such future projects as the repair and development of the country's oil industry. US officials, wary of a potential backlash to a US-led invasion and military occupation, hope to convince Iraqis, by showing fast results, that the attempt to overhaul Iraq merits their support. Officials think they can win over hearts and minds by feeding hungry Iraqis, delivering clean water, and helping to pay teachers and health workers while a new government is constructed. The US Agency for International Development is seeking companies to handle such projects as renovating the country's largest airports, resuscitating electrical grids, and printing textbooks. The administration will seek from Congress the billions of dollars necessary for the initial military and civilian postwar effort if the White House challenges Iraq with force. US diplomats have been seeking financial commitments from other countries. Planners also hope Iraqi oil revenue can help pay for reconstruction. The initial construction contract could be as large as $900 million, US officials have said. One planner called the number a ceiling and predicted the actual amount of the umbrella contract would be lower. ''The United States is probably going to have to pick up the bulk of what's going to happen in reconstruction, at least at the outset,'' said Bathsheba Crocker, coauthor of a report on post-Hussein Iraq at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ''It's acknowledged even by them that it's going to be a drop in the bucket compared to what the overall costs will be.'' To speed the project, USAID invoked special authority to solicit bids from selected companies, which include the Louis Berger Group Inc., a significant US contractor in Afghanistan. The move bypassed the usual rules that would have permitted a wider pool of companies to seek the contract, first reported by Time magazine and The Wall Street Journal. Vice President Dick Cheney spent five years as chief executive of one competitor, Houston-based energy services company Halliburton. The Pentagon announced Thursday that Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root is developing a plan under an existing contract to fight possible Iraqi oil well fires. The ''urgent circumstances and the unique nature of this work'' justify the procedures, USAID spokeswoman Ellen Yount said. Officials said the winner is certain to farm out work to other companies inside and outside Iraq. Construction industry executives said the firms are competing fiercely in part because they think it could provide an inside track to postwar business opportunities. A significant prize: oil industry contracts. ''It's a sensitive topic because we still haven't gone to war, but these companies are really in a position to win something out of this geopolitical situation,'' an industry executive said. It remains unclear whether Iraqis, Americans, or an international consortium would manage the oil industry during an early post-conflict period. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online http://webhosting.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bdn7KI.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. FREE! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/create/index2.html ==^================================================================
