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Bank Of America Investment A construction subsidiary of Vice President Cheney's former company is no longer in the running for a $600 million government contract to help rebuild Iraq after the war.

It is estimated to be worth up to $900m for the preliminary work alone, such as rebuilding Iraq's hospitals, ports, airports and schools. Saddam Iraq that should give them an invaluable edge in winning future contracts. The defense department contract awarded to the Halliburton subsidiary, Kellog, Brown & Root (KBR), to control oil fires if Saddam Hussein sets the well heads alight, will put the company in an excellent position to bid for huge contracts when Iraq's oil industry is rehabilitated.

Investment Opportunity The U.S. Agency for International Development, which is responsible for handing out the main postwar reconstruction contracts, confirmed that KBR, formerly Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Houston-based Halliburton Co., was not among two finalists for the contract.

Today the company is working on major contracts to build oil infrastructure in Brazil and Nigeria for companies like Chevron, Petrobras and Shell. And Cheney also oversaw the company's merger with Dresser Industries, one of the companies that helped Saddam Hussein rebuild Iraq's oil infrastructure after the Gulf war despite the fact that Cheney was one of the architects of the economic sanctions against Iraq. Under his leadership, Halliburton used two foreign subsidiaries to do $23 million worth of business with Iraq, more than any other U.S. company.

Banc Of America Investment USAID spokeswoman Ellen M. Yount said the agency has not made a final decision on who will get the contract, one of eight it is in the process of awarding.

So, choosing a more expensive unit from companies that provide lifetime warranties, such as Zero Halliburton and Lowepro, might be less stressful on the wallet in the long run.

Banking Investment It is unclear whether KBR removed itself from the bidding or whether the development agency eliminated the company. KBR's status was first reported by Newsweek's online edition.

UK firms could secure a "significant proportion" of new contracts to help rebuild Iraq, a government minister has told company bosses. Industry must "play its full part" in the reconstruction of the country, said trade minister Mike O'Brien. Company executives were given a chance to meet the man overseeing the distribution of $18.6bn (11.14bn) of US money. This follows the US government's pledge for greater transparency in awarding new contracts to rebuild Iraq.

Investment Solution Strategic KBR was on the short list of companies the development agency selected in mid-February to compete for the 21-month contract to rebuild highways, bridges, airports and government buildings in postwar Iraq.

During the rebuilding period, Galveston lost most of its port business to Houston, but the resilient little city quickly recovered from that setback also.

Investment Banking Services The other bidders were Fluor Corp., Washington Group International Inc., Louis Berger Group Inc., Parsons Corp. and Bechtel Group Inc. The New York Times reported yesterday that Bechtel, once headed by former secretary of state George P. Schulz, was one of the two finalists. A Bechtel spokesman said he had no new information.

Bank Investment Cheney, a former defense secretary, was chief executive of Halliburton from 1995 until George W. Bush selected him as his running mate in 2000.

Alternative Investment Wendy Hall, a spokeswoman for Halliburton, declined to comment and referred questions to the international development agency.

Online Investment Services KBR has not lost out entirely. Last week the Army Corps of Engineers awarded it the prime contract to extinguish oil-field fires in Iraq. The value of that contract depends on the scope of the work.

Accompany Essential Investment Critics in the United States and abroad claim that the Bush administration is using the reconstruction bid process to steer work to corporate friends. But others said the list of companies capable of doing the sort of work required by the contracts is a small one.

Investment Company The government is proposing to spend $2.4 billion on humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Iraq.

Investment Management Solution "Halliburton is the most prominent example, but the largely noncompetitive nature of the bidding continues to favor companies politically connected to the administration through campaign donation and shut out competitive offers even from our fighting allies like Great Britain," said Charles Tiefer, law professor at the University of Baltimore and the author of a casebook on government contracting

Investment Management Services The USAID is using an exemption in its acquisition regulations that allows it to bypass the normal competitive bid process when foreign aid programs would otherwise be impaired. The agency administrator, Andrew Natsios, has said that a shorter bid process is necessary to get aid more quickly to the people of Iraq.

Guide Investment Stock "We asked for companies that had security classifications already, that knew how to bid federal contracts, work through the existing accounting system for the federal government, so we could move this very rapidly," Natsios said last week at a State Department briefing. "Speed is of the essence in this whole thing."

Investment Manual Solution The Bush administration also has been criticized for excluding international companies from the bidding process.

Investment Stock "It's only going to empower other countries to exclude our firms from future work," said Steven L. Schooner, a law professor at George Washington University.

Essential Investment Solution Federal procurement law requires that USAID contract with U.S. companies. The administration waived a part of that law in January to allow foreign companies to compete for subcontracts.

Citicorp Investment Services Natsios said at least 50 percent of the Iraqi reconstruction work will be done through subcontracts.

Fool Guide Investment Motley The development agency has so far awarded two of the eight initial reconstruction contracts. District-based International Resources Group won the first contract in February, a $7 million award to provide personnel support for coordinating the reconstruction effort. Seattle-based Stevedoring Services of America last week won a $4.8 million contract to manage the Iraqi sea port of Umm Qasr.

Fidelity Investment Services By Jackie Spinner
Washington Post - 3/30/2003

Topic: Military & War

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