Companies compete for Iraq contracts

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Companies compete for Iraq contracts

BAGDAHD, IRAQ - The scramble to win contracts in bomb-shattered Iraq is on, with US firms such as Halliburton, Bechtel and Amec are leading charge.

Bids worth $14 billion (£7.6 billion) were lodged last week in the Iraq infrastructure reconstruction office, but UK Companies such as Vodafone, De La Rue, and Serco have been relegated to secondary contracts, leading to complaints of American favouritism.

Brian Wilson, Tony Blair's special envoy on reconstruction, told The Independent: "It is an un-level playing field. The Americans have taken the view that if it is US tax dollars paying for the work then American companies should go to the front of the queue.

“But there is substantial scope this time around for British companies to get some of the work."

"There is no doubt the Iraqis want British companies to be more involved because they are not American. The Iraqis are more comfortable working with the British because they have more of a cultural, historic and educational affinity," he concluded.

A recent investigation by southern exposure magazine claims to have uncovered shoddy work, waste and overcharging by US companies.

"A handful of well-connected corporations are making a killing off the devastation in Iraq" said Chris Kromm, publisher of Southern Exposure. "The politics and process behind these deals have always been questionable. Now we have first-hand evidence that they're not even doing their jobs."

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