Reshaping Iraq

Iraq Reconstruction Contracts

20/5/2003

Listed below are the corporations that have been awarded contracts for Iraq’s reconstruction by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

• Bechtel Group

  • Bechtel Group is awarded a contract worth $680 million; the firm is given the job of emergency infrastructure repair and rehabilitation. It is required to assess and repair power generation facilities, electrical grids, municipal water systems and sewage systems. The deal includes a provision for the rehabilitation or repair of airport facilities, and the dredging, repair and upgrading of the southern Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr.

  • Among Bechtel's directors is George Shultz, President Reagan's secretary of State.

  • Bechtel had previously given $1.3 million to US political candidates from 1999 to 2002, 59% of it to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

  • It is reported that Bechtel had had ties with Usama bin Laden’s family. Bin Laden’s family members had invested $10 million in an equity fund run by a former subsidiary of Bechtel.

• Halliburton Co.

  • Halliburton Co., run by US Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000, is granted a contract that encompasses the operation of Iraqi oil fields.

  • Halliburton is under fire over accusations that its White House ties helped it win a major Iraqi oil contract.

  • The oil services giant admitted Friday, May 9, that it paid 2.4 million dollars in bribes to get favorable tax treatment in Nigeria.

  • The Center for Responsive Politics recalls that Halliburton had poured 17, 6 million dollars into Bush's 2000 presidential campaign.

  • Halliburton is accused of having done business in Iran, Iraq and Libya despite US embargoes.

• Research Triangle Institute International

  • Research Triangle Institute is awarded a contract worth $167.9 million to provide local governance support in post-war Iraq.

• Creative Associates International, Inc.

  • Creative Associates International is awarded a contract worth $62.6 million. CAII will be responsible for the revitalization of Iraqi schools and stabilization of education.

• Stevedoring Services of America

  • SSA is granted a contract worth $4.8 million. The company will be responsible for the management and administration of the Umm Qasr Port.

  • From 1998 to 2002, SSA had paid $24000 in political contributions, 80% of which went to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

• Abt Associates Inc.

  • Abt Associates Inc. is granted a contract worth $43.8 million to rebuild the Iraqi health system.

• International Resource Group

  • IRG is awarded a contract worth $7.1 million to assist and provide key personnel support to the USAID.

• Air Force Contract Augmentation Program

  • AFCAP is granted a $26 million for theater logistical support.

• SkyLink Air and Logistic Support (USA) Inc.

  • SkyLink Air and Logistic Support is granted a $2.5 million for the management and administration of the airports of Baghdad, Basra and Mosul.

  • The Washington Post reports that SkyLink Air and Logistic Support (USA) Inc. is an affiliate of a Canadian company Tornato-based SkyLink Aviation Inc. that twice was banned from working for the United Nations in the 1990s. Both companies are part of the SkyLink Group of companies.

• Patrick Corporation

  • Australian transport company Patrick Corporation has won a contract to assist the American firm, Skylink Air and Logistic Support, in its work on airports in Iraq.

Anti-war countries such as France, Germany and Russia are expected to be awarded contracts for Iraq’s reconstruction by the USAID, given the fact that these countries have voted for the US-drafted resolution lifting the sanctions that had been imposed on Iraq for 12 years.

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