Iraq contracts coming to pals

[dArKeR]

Baghdad - The US office managing rebuilding funds in Iraq will start awarding $5bn worth of contracts this week, a senior US official said on Sunday, to firms from countries that supported the war effort.

"We anticipate that the first of those will probably be awarded sometime this week. Most likely is that the first of the contracts are going to be the programme management contracts," the official told reporters in Baghdad.

The US Congress has earmarked $18.4bn for reconstruction in Iraq, almost one third of the 55 billion dollars the World Bank estimates will be necessary to get the war-torn country back on its feet.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,,2-10-1460_1494665,00.html