U.S. Awards Major Water, Power Contracts to Rebuild Iraq

The Pentagon announced Thursday it awarded two prime Iraq reconstruction contracts to U.S. and British companies to rebuild the country's power and water sectors.

Washington International Inc./Black & Veatch — a joint venture owned 90 percent by Boise, Idaho-based engineering and construction company Washington Group International and 10 percent by Black & Veatch — was awarded a contract with a ceiling of $600 million to rebuild the water sector in Iraq.

FluorAMEC LLC, owned 51 percent by U.S. engineering and construction company Fluor Corp. and 49 percent by Britain's Amec Plc, was awarded a contract worth up to $500 million for power projects in Iraq, the military said.

These contracts are the first major reconstruction deals awarded among a new crop of $5 billion worth of heavy construction contracts funded by $18.6 billion appropriated by Congress to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure.

Source: Reuters