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SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 7, 2003 -- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the award of a contract to Bechtel National, Inc. to undertake Iraq Infrastructure II, a program to rehabilitate and repair Iraq's infrastructure system. Bechtel is teamed with Parsons of Pasadena, California, and Horne Engineering Services of Fairfax, Virginia.
Under terms of the new contract, the Bechtel team will provide a major program of engineering, procurement, and construction services for a series of new Iraqi infrastructure projects, with work beginning in January 2004 and extending through December 2005, at a total value of up to $1.8 billion.
Bechtel had previously been awarded a reconstruction contract in Iraq by USAID in April 2003 that will extend through December 2004.
Announcement of the latest contract was made after a nearly three-month competitive process during which agency officials examined the bids and qualifications from competing firms.
"We are honored to have been selected to continue to help rebuild Iraq," said Bechtel National President Tom Hash. "This award, made after an open, competitive process, demonstrates our customer's confidence in our team's capacity and commitment to quickly begin Iraq Infrastructure II work, while at the same time continuing work under our initial Iraq reconstruction contract."
Hash said Bechtel's new work will support both the Coalition Provisional Authority and USAID and will involve such major infrastructure sectors as electric power systems, municipal water and sanitation services, road networks and rail systems, selected public buildings, ports and waterways, and airports. The new assignment also requires Bechtel to supply institutional strengthening support to Iraqi utilities and institutions.
Hash added that the company intends to build on its current goal of hiring the maximum number of Iraqi employees at all levels, of subcontracting to qualified Iraqi companies to the maximum extent possible, and of providing comprehensive training and work experience for Iraqi managers and their employees. Bechtel also has planned a significant program to include small businesses in the project.
Award of the Iraq Infrastructure II contract to Bechtel marks the company's latest involvement in the Middle East, a region of the world where it has been active for the past six decades. Since its arrival on the scene after the most recent Iraqi conflict in the spring of 2003, Bechtel and its subcontractors have already reopened the deepwater port of Umm Qasr to receive hundreds of thousands of tons of food and humanitarian supplies, refurbished 1,239 primary and secondary schools, restored reliable potable water service to the city of Safwan's 40,000 residents, and returned desperately needed electricity generation to pre-conflict levels. In addition, Bechtel so far has awarded 122 subcontracts to 102 Iraqi companies out of a total of 162 subcontracts.
After the Gulf War, in 1991, Bechtel coordinated and directed a massive effort to rebuild Kuwait's energy infrastructure. Although experts had predicted five years of environmental and economic ruin for Kuwait, Bechtel and its subcontractors extinguished the 650 oil fires in only eight months. In addition, Bechtel carried out the environmental cleanup and restoration of more than 400 miles of Saudi Arabian shoreline.
Bechtel also has a long work history with USAID. The company has provided the agency with a wide range of services for a number of hydroelectric, power, and telecommunications projects over more than 40 years in various parts of the world, including the Middle East, central and eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. Among the services provided have been construction, technical assistance, engineering, and in-country training for a number of energy projects.
Bechtel National is the government contracting arm of the San Francisco- based Bechtel group of companies, which has earned an unparalleled reputation for managing some of the world's largest, most complex, and hazardous projects. During its 105-year history, the Bechtel organization has worked on 20,000 projects in 140 countries on all seven continents. Additional information on Bechtel is available at www.bechtel.com.
Parsons is in many diversified markets, including transportation, facilities, industrial processes, communications, infrastructure, water, advanced technology, environmental, and planning. The company provides technical and management solutions to private industrial customers worldwide as well as federal, regional, and local government agencies.
Parsons has several years of reconstruction experience. Most recently, the company teamed with USAID in the restoration of infrastructure and medical, education, and government facilities in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. Parsons is providing program management and logistics support to the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Ala., for the Captured Enemy Ammunition program at various sites in Iraq.
Parsons also has been working in Kuwait since the first Gulf War to restore and upgrade key energy facilities, a corporate headquarters, and development of an industrial campus in Ahmadi. For more about Parsons, please visit www.parsons.com.
Horne Engineering, an award-winning small business, is a technology and technical engineering solutions firm whose primary service areas are national security, energy and environment, and transportation. More information may be gained by visiting www.horne.com.
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