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1 hour, 6 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W Bush's administration delayed the award 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 (news - web sites) 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
1 hour, 6 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W Bush's administration delayed the award 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 (news - web sites) 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
