Rebuilding Iraq a lucrative job

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

Construction firms from U.S. banking on the long term

The invasion of Iraq one year ago provided a multibillion-dollar boost to the United States' largest construction and engineering firms.

Although San Francisco's Bechtel Corp. and Halliburton, of Houston, have received the most public scrutiny, the billions of tax dollars pouring into Iraq's reconstruction also flow through such competitors as Pasadena's Parsons Corp., Orange County's Fluor Corp. and Washington Group International in Idaho.

Profit margins are low. But the money and contracts keep coming, even as critics cry favoritism over the political connections many of the firms enjoy. The companies, several of whom have lost workers to the violence, say they're committed to the country long-term and hope the next Iraqi government hands them extra work.

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Washington Group employs twice as many security guards as it does other subcontractors. Bechtel has not acknowledged any lost workers and has stopped answering questions about whether any of its employees have died in Iraq.

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/03/21/BUG4E5O6M31.DTL

[jayfish]

1. Sure, Its Very Lucrative For The Execs Of The Profiteers.

The the people, who work for these co's, on the ground in Iraq who's lives are in danger, may have a different take.

Jay

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

2. It would be interesting to see figures (if they can be obtained) of

deaths and injuries to non-Iraqi corporate employees.

Sad that the figures are there, but they chould be reported since, in effect, they are now the privatized Army Engineers.

[jayfish]

3. I Heard Some Numbers A Couple Of Months Back...

and they were not pretty. Of course we don't seem to count anything but the numbers of our military casualties, so there is no way to know for sure.

Jay

[tlcandie]

4. Who's getting these jobs?

http://electroniciraq.net/news/1408.shtml

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However, with bigger issues to deal with, including the scheduled June 30 handover of sovereignty to Iraqis, the de facto government, the appointed Governing Council, apparently has not had time to address the issue of rapidly rising rents in some parts of the country. Meanwhile UN agencies that most commonly deal with internally displaced people in post-conflict situations are working on Iraqi issues from outside of the country.

Reconstruction experts believe up to 84,000 families may be without houses in Iraq, said Andy Bearpark, CPA director of operations and infrastructure. In an efort to address this Bremer recently signed seven housing contracts worth more than US $100 million to start building new homes for people. The homes will be built mostly in the southern Iraqi towns of Basra, Muthanna, Najaf, Diyala, Karbala, Maysan and Ninawa.
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However, people still living in temporary accommodations and shelters don't want to wait. They say if nothing is done soon, they'll create even more political problems. Housing projects just signed by Bremer could take as long as three years to complete.
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