AMEC in Iraq

[er...remember them? They are currently helping to carve up the resources in Algeria on Behalf of the FRENCH government]

AMEC is playing an important role in the restoration of Iraq following the award of three major contracts for work worth up to US$1.6 billion, of which AMEC's share will be worth up to US$780 million.

The awards, won in conjunction with Fluor, AMEC's joint venture partner in Iraq, cover the restoration of power generation facilities and water and waste infrastructure across the country. They reflect AMEC's status as one of the world's largest and most experienced project management and engineering services companies.

The power contract for up to US$500 million (AMEC share US$245 million) was awarded on 12 March 2004 to the Fluor AMEC LLC joint venture and covers the provision of engineering services for the restoration, rehabilitation, operation and maintenance of power generation facilities across Iraq.

The two public works and water infrastructure contracts worth up to US$1.1 billion (AMEC share US$540 million) were awarded on 24 March 2004 to the Fluor AMEC LLC joint venture and cover the provision of design and build services for the rehabilitation of existing, and construction of new, potable water distribution and treatment systems, municipal sewer collection and treatment systems and solid waste management systems across Iraq.

In addition, AMEC is supporting Fluor as its prime subcontractor on a further contract worth up to US$154 million, which was awarded to Fluor in 17 February 2004 and which involves the restoration of damaged power generation, transmission and distribution systems in Iraq. Fluor secured this contract with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and it will potentially involve task orders worth up to US$1.5 billion to Fluor over the next five years, to provide services to the US Central Command area of operations, which includes Iraq. Fluor and AMEC started work in February on this power contract.

All contracts have been awarded on a cost-reimbursable basis.

In February 2004 AMEC appointed Christopher Wilkinson as Managing Director to lead the Company's operations in Iraq. Christopher joined AMEC from Intergen, an independent power developer, where he was Vice President and Country Manager for Turkey and the surrounding regions and was responsible for the development, financing and construction of 3800 MW of new gas fired power generation.

Safety will be of paramount importance and Fluor AMEC LLC will be retaining its own security services in addition to the security teams provided by the coalition forces. - amec.com

Amec and Balfour Beatty team up for Olympic gold

Tracey Boles - February 19, 2006

AMEC has teamed up with Balfour Beatty to form an all-British consortium to bid for the prestigious project manager role for the 2012 London Olympics. The role is to oversee the design, construction and maintenance of the multi-billion-pound Olympic village and venues.

The two British infrastructure firms, which previously worked together on London Underground's Jubilee line, agreed to join forces last week as the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) issued a new tender for the role of "delivery partner" on the Olympics.

Ian Thomas, Amec business-development director, said: "Amec and Balfour Beatty are joining up to develop a strong British consortium with access to resources and delivery facilities from across the whole of the UK." The ODA is the government body charged with building the key venues, facilities and infrastructure for the 2012 Games. As well as the Olympic village, there are plans for the main stadium, swimming pools, a hockey pitch, gym and velodrome, all at Stratford in east London. The resulting Olympic Park will be seven minutes by train from central London.

The project-manager role has been greatly expanded from providing the infrastructure, as was originally envisaged. It will now cover many more stages in the life of the Olympic sites, from early planning to their transformation after the Games have finished.

ODA chairman Jack Lemley, appointed last November, scrapped the original short list already drawn up for the job, which included Amec, KBR, Mace, Lend Lease, Arup and Parsons Brinckerhoff.

The ODA said: "The complexity of the task has been redefined. It is no reflection on the original applicants."

While the bulk of the work will be at Stratford, other sites will also come under the auspices of the project manager. They include a shooting range in Surrey, a yachting facility, and several training camps dotted around the country.

The tender stipulates that only firms with an annual turnover of £100m or more may apply. The ODA wants its project manager to have sufficient resources to pitch in should any of the projects run into difficulty. Expressions of interest for the new role, which can come from consortiums or single companies, must be in by March 28, followed by bids on April 25. The contract begins this July.

Amec said it would bring its programme-management expertise to the new consortium with Balfour, which will be run as a special-purpose vehicle. Amec is project manager on the final fit-out of Heathrow's Terminal Five.

Balfour Beatty's Tim Sharp said: "We have comprehensive infrastructure capabilities. We and Amec are sensible partners to look at this important challenge. Our experience dovetails with Amec's."

The firms are already paired on the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) to rebuild University College Hospital. - timesonline.co.uk

IRAQ: British Companies Making a Fortune out of Iraq Conflict

A total of 61 British companies are identified as benefiting from at least £1.1bn of contracts and investment in the new Iraq. But that figure is just the tip of the iceberg.

by Robert Verkaik , The Independent March 13th, 2006

British businesses have profited by at least £1.1bn since coalition forces toppled Saddam Hussein three years ago, the first comprehensive investigation into UK corporate investment in Iraq has found.

The company roll-call of post-war profiteers includes some of the best known names in Britain's boardrooms as well many who would prefer to remain anonymous. They come from private security services, banks, PR consultancies, urban planning consortiums, oil companies, architects offices and energy advisory bodies.

Among the top earners is the construction firm Amec, which has made an estimated £500m from a series of contracts restoring electrical systems and maintaining power generation facilities during the past two years. Aegis, which provides private security has earned more than £246m from a three-year contract with the Pentagon to co-ordinate military and security companies in Iraq. Erinys, which specialises in the same area, has made more than £86m, a substantial portion from the protection of oilfields.

The evidence of massive investments and the promise of more multimillion-pound profits to come was discovered in a joint investigation by Corporate Watch, an independent watchdog, and The Independent.

The findings show how much is stake if Britain were to withdraw military protection from Iraq. British company involvement at the top of Iraq's new political and economic structures means Iraq will be forced to rely on British business for many years to come.

A total of 61 British companies are identified as benefiting from at least £1.1bn of contracts and investment in the new Iraq. But that figure is just the tip of the iceberg; Corporate Watch believes it could be as much as five times higher, because many companies prefer to keep their relationship secret.

The waters are further muddied by the Government's refusal to release the names of companies it has helped to win contracts in Iraq.

Many of the companies enjoy long-standing relationships with Labour and now have a financial stake in the reconstruction of Iraq in Britain's image. Of the total profits published in the report, the British taxpayer has had to meet a bill for £78m while the US taxpayer's contribution to UK corporate earnings in Iraq is nearly nine times that. Iraqis themselves have paid British company directors £150m.

The report acknowledges that British business still lags behind the huge profits paid to American companies. But, in two fields, Britain is playing a critical and leading role.

The threat from the Iraqi insurgency means British private security companies are in great demand. Corporate Watch estimates there are between 20,000 and 30,000 security personnel working in Iraq, half of whom are employed by companies run by retired senior British officers and at least two former defence ministers.

The biggest British player, Aegis - run by Tim Spicer, the former British army lieutenant colonel who founded the security company Sandline - has a workforce the size of a military division and may rank as the largest corporate military group ever assembled, according to the report. Other private security companies have sprung up overnight to protect British and American civilians.

Britain is also playing a leading role in advising on the creation of state institutions and the business of government. PA Consulting, which has also received a contract for advising on the Government's ID cards scheme, worth around £19m, is now a key adviser in Iraq.

Adam Smith International, a body closely linked to the right-wing think-tank used by Margaret Thatcher, has been heavily involved in the foundation of the Iraqi government and continues to influence its newly formed ministries. According to the Tory MP Quentin Davies, who visited Iraq, the advisers are "reordering Iraqi government operations at the most basic level, to help restructure some of the Iraqi ministries, in fact physically restructure them, even suggesting how the minister's office should be laid out".

Another favourite of the Thatcher governments, now involved in Iraq, is Tim Bell, who ran the Tories' election campaigns in 1979, 1983 and 1987. His PR firm Bell-Pottinger has been involved in advising on the 2004 elections and a strategic campaign to promote bigger concepts such as the return of sovereignty, reconstruction, support for the army and police, minority rights and public probity.

Loukas Christodoulou, of Corporate Watch, has been monitoring British business relations with Iraq since the invasion. He says in his conclusion to our joint report: "The presence of these consultants in Iraq is arguably a part of the UK government's policy to push British firms as lead providers of privatisation support. The Department for International Development has positioned itself as a champion of privatisation in developing countries. The central part UK firms are playing in reshaping Iraq's economy and society lays the ground for a shift towards a corporate-dominated economy. This will have repercussions lasting decades."

In five years, the £1.1bn of contracts identified in the report will be dwarfed by what Britain and the US hope to reap from investments. Highly lucrative oil contracts have yet to be handed out. - UK independent via corpwatch.org/