Iraq Reconstruction Passes 1,000 Project Milestone
December 03, 2004
The Iraq Project and Contracting Office (PCO) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today that the U.S. government has surpassed the 1,000 construction start mark one month ahead of their year-end goal. The reconstruction team has delivered 1,051 construction starts to-date.
Were thrilled to have achieved this goal in spite of insurgent activity, stated PCO Director Charles Hess. At the same time, while it is an important mark, its just a mark on the wall. There are going to be many more. As of today, we have 1,051 projects that have actually started construction, or turned dirt. Our new goal is 1,200 by the end of the year.
The 1,051 projects include the renovation and new construction of schools, primary health care facilities, hospitals, water treatment projects, and police and fire stations in every province.
Reconstruction Projects Underway as of Dec. 2, 2004
| schools | 363 |
| public health clinics | 41 |
| hospitals | 14 |
| railroad stations | 58 |
| border posts | 88 |
| port of entry | 6 |
| fire stations | 20 |
| police stations | 17 |
| military bases | 16 |
| water | 67 |
| electricity | 58 |
| oil | 19 |
| sewer | 24 |
| roads | 66 |
| other | 194 |
| total | 1,051 |
While the number is important, it is the impact of those projects that is most important said Brig. Gen. Thomas Bostick, commander of the Gulf Region Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Iraqi people are seeing progress.
Both Hess and Bostick expect the pace of construction starts to continue to accelerate as more work gets underway. The level of disbursement has doubled since August, now standing at nearly $2 billion. Iraqi employment numbers have climbed to nearly 90,000.
Further information can be found on the PCO Web site at: http:// www.rebuilding-iraq.net