US delays announcement of contracts to run Iraqi air, sea ports
This all copyright by Agency Freedom Press...aka Agence France Press.....
Cheers, Ken Hanly
WASHINGTON (AFP) Mar 22, 2003
US President George W Bush's administration delayed the award Friday of a
contract to a US firm to run Iraqi seaports after the war, an official said.
US Agency for International Development (USAID) spokesman Luke Zahner said
the announcement of the winner of the seaports management contract,
originally scheduled for Friday, would now be made Monday.
A separate contract to run airports in postwar Iraq would be announced early
next week, and another contract for the reconstruction of infrastructure
such as bridges and roads was also expected to be awarded Tuesday or
Wednesday.
Delays in contacting the firms involved were blamed for the postponement.
The deals are among eight civilian contracts for the postwar reconstruction
of Iraq, tendered by USAID since January 31 to a select group of US
companies.
The process has been criticised by some analysts because of its secrecy and
the small number of firms involved. No foreign companies were invited to
tender.
The four remaining contracts cover logistical support to manage the
reconstruction efforts in the fields of health, schooling and local
governance.
One deal has already been struck. A 7.1 million dollar personnel contract
was awarded to Washington-based International Resources Group on February
21.
The value of all eight contracts is being kept secret until Bush tells
Congress how much he wants to finance the war, according to Alfonso Aguilar,
a second USAID spokesman.
US press reports said the value could exceed 900 million dollars.
The urgent need to award the contracts prompted a special provisions for an
fast-track procurement process, in which only firms that met certain
criteria were invited to apply, USAID said.
Those criteria included technical capabilites, proven accounting mechanisms,
and the ability to field qualified technical teams at short notice.
Importantly, firms also were required to have personnel cleared to view
classified information.
"This is one of the reasons why US firms only are being included in this
first phase, because their personnel need to have security clearance. They
will need to view classified documents," Aguilar said.
Given the size of the contracts, USAID expected the work to require
subcontractors, he said.
"In that process of subcontracting, we are making sure it is open to any
firm from anywhere, including foreign firms," he added
