US defends award of contracts to rebuild Iraq

A senior US official has stronglydefended the initial handout of contracts to rebuild Iraq only to UScompanies.

A senior US official has stronglydefended the initial handout of contracts to rebuild Iraq only to UScompanies.

Mr Alan Larson, the undersecretary of state for economic, businessand agricultural affairs, denied the United States was alreadysharing out the spoils of war and said foreign scepticism about thecontracts was "surprising".

Washington had sought only "to make sure that there would bepeople who would be ready to come in to restart the electric generators, to operate the ports, to put out oil fires", he told reporters.

"It was exactly the right thing to do, the responsible thing to do," Larson added.

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"The awarding of these contracts was about how can we make sure that the Iraqi people get the help that they need quickly, not about who is going to get the economic benefits of post-conflict reconstruction in Iraq," he said.

The US army on Tuesday announced it had granted the main Iraqi oil-well firefighting contract to a unit of Halliburton Co., a firm once run by Vice President Dick Cheney, without any bidding.

Two other US companies have benefited from contracts worth $11.9 million, including one to manage the Iraqiport of Umm Qasr.

Other contracts could be awarded this week, particularly for infrastructure projects worth about $600 million, for which eight US firms have been invited to bid.

AFP