Iraqi Dinar Discussion Board

[Arctec]

Implementing service projects alongside the security plan
Translated by IRAQdirectory.com - [22/02/2007]


The Director of the National Coordination Team in the American embassy said that his government has allocated amounts of money to implement service projects in Baghdad as part of the first phase of the security plan implemented by the Iraqi government.

Eric Olson said in a press conference inside the Green Zone in Baghdad: "There are ten transitional teams from the American national Team in Baghdad and eight others in the provinces participating within the reconstruction transitional teams in building Iraqi institutions, the rule of law, police operations, establishing law institutions and infrastructure projects".

He added: "The team is building (150) service projects and supporting infrastructure projects by defining the needs of construction, project management and quality control".
He said: "We will support the available teams by bring (350) experts and specialists from civilians after the vacuum was filled by the American Ministry of Defense. The teams will arrive in stages in the months of March, August and at the end of this year".

Olsen said: “six other teams from the National Team in Baghdad will work with the military teams which are carrying out their military duties and a seventh team will be north of Babylon working with the military forces there. The team will be subject to the Executive Committee which has representatives, to implement service tasks, from six committees of the members of the Security Group including two military leaders, one from Iraq and the other from America, to implement service projects in electricity, water and sewage in addition to the Data Committee whose mission is to provide all information about the districts’ needs of services; there will also be a public support Committee in the provinces to improve the security situation".

Olsen confirmed: “we will announce, during the coming days, the American budget for 2007 and the amounts of money allocated to support projects in Iraq. There is also one billion dollars of Iraqi funds that has not been spent yet, so the Iraqi Ministry of Finance has decided to include it within the current year’s budget to be spent on services, in addition to other allocations set for services within budget".

He explained: "We asked for $ 200 million to be allocated for the financial support of Iraqi provinces, in addition to $100 million for projects in Baghdad, and $40 million for Basrah, as well as $400 million for the leaders of provinces to implement other projects".