Iraq electrical contracts

The U.S. Department of Defense awarded a contract to the Iraq Power Alliance, a joint venture of Parsons E&C and Parsons Brinckerhoff, of Newcastle, to rebuild Iraq's electric power system.

The work includes rehabilitation of the existing generating, transmission and distribution systems, together with development of new power plant and T&D networks.

The contract, valued at $43m, is one of seven awarded by the Department of Defense to provide dedicated programme management and co-ordination support for all design and construction activities being performed within six sectors of construction in Iraq. Parsons Brinckerhoff is owned by Parsons Brinckerhoff of New York. There has been $18.4bn appropriated by the U.S. Congress to support the reconstruction of Iraqi infrastructure. Parsons E&C was also awarded a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract for restoring the Iraq oil infrastructure in the northern area of the country.

Shares in Amec also rose more than 4% after Britain's largest engineering services firm's joint venture was awarded a contract worth up to $500m for power projects in Iraq.

The Pentagon awarded a construction contract in Iraq to FluorAMEC LLC, owned 51% by U.S. organisation Fluor Corp. and 49% by Amec.

Amec established the Fluor joint-venture in April in the hopes of winning work in Iraq and had grown frustrated at having been passed over for major contracts.

Amec shares were up 4.35% at 288 pence.

Brian Wilson, former energy minister who now acts as Blair's special representative for trade and reconstruction in Iraq, welcomed the news.

British industry has been watching the contracting process in the United States with growing dismay as UK firms lost out on billions of dollars of work to U.S. rivals.