Smoke from burning oil fires set ablaze
by Iraqis as a shield against
incoming missiles and air raids obscures
Baghdad, Tuesday,
April 1, 2003. It's not just a history
of creating landmarks such as
the Hoover Dam that made Bechtel Corp.
a leading contender for a
windfall contract to rebuild Iraq. The
company also has forged
lasting political bridges, raising worries
it has an unfair advantage
in the bidding to lead the biggest reconstruction
since World WarII.
(AP Photo/Jerome Delay) |
WASHINGTON - The government awarded
Bechtel Corp. a contract on Thursday that could reach $680 million to help
rebuild Iraq, including the nation's power, water and sewage systems.
The U.S. Agency for International Development
said the initial contract was for $34.6 million but it could be worth the
larger figure over 18 months, subject to congressional approval.
Several Democratic lawmakers have complained
the Bush administration did not allow open competitive bidding, but rather
invited a small number of firms to submit proposals. USAID has defended
the procedure as the only way to get help to Iraq quickly.
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The company has employed several officials
after they left high government jobs, including former Secretary of State
George Shultz and former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger,
The Bechtel Group and its employees have
been among the biggest political givers in the general contracting industry,
according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan
Washington-based group that tracks campaign finance.
The company and its workers contributed
at least $277,050 to federal candidates and party committees in the last
election cycle, about 57 percent to Democrats and 43 percent to Republicans,
the center found.
In addition to Bechtel's work utility systems,
the contract also provides for rehabilitation or repair of airport facilities
and dredging, repair and upgrading of the Umm Qasr seaport in cooperation
with other contractors, the assistance agency said.
| Bechtel also may have a role in repair
and reconstruction of hospitals, schools, selected government ministry
buildings, irrigation facilities and transportation links.
The agency said Bechtel probably would
hire subcontractors for many of the projects.
"Through all of its activities, it will
also engage the Iraqi population and work to build local capacity," the
announcement said.
"Bechtel is honored to have been asked
by USAID to help bring humanitarian assistance, economic recovery and infrastructure
reconstruction to the Iraqi people," said Tom Hash, president of Bechtel
National, Inc.
The question of who rebuilds Iraq has divided
the president's advisers and even the two major coalition partners in the
current war, the United States and Britain. British Prime Minister Tony
Blair has sought deeper U.N. involvement in postwar Iraq than President
Bush. |
US Special forces run through the gutted
interior of
Baghdad's Central Bank complex as they
search the area
for bank robbers and looters Thursday
April 17, 2003.
Baghdad's banking district remains one
of the last centers
of attraction for looters attempting to
cart of millions
remaining in the vaults of the capital's
institutions.
(AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
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