Shatt Al Arab Sports Club, Basra, Iraq

Ten years ago, Shatt Al Arab sports club in Al Tanoma city in east Basra was an old building.

“Shatt Al Arab sports club was a really unusable building, all the walls and ceilings were in very bad condition, but now everything looks new thanks to the U.S. Army Engineers efforts,” said Lateef Khalf, the sports club administrator.

The Gulf Region Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq, invested $300,000 to reconstruct the four-decade-old facility.

Khalf said the renovated facility provides a place for about 750 members – providing an opportunity for neighborhood residents of different ages to work out and enjoy an array of sports training.

“It’s great to see all these young Iraqis spend part of their time in sport activities and develop their sports abilities through this sports club,” said Khalf. “We hope to make this club training grounds for many Iraqi Olympians in the future.”

James Mills, the Basra Area Office resident engineer who oversaw the project for the Gulf Region South district, said the renovated sports club offers many amenities.

“The rehabilitation work included a new rubberized outdoor surface, new bleachers, new stadium lights, sun shade, new locker rooms, showers and two restrooms,” said Mills.

Mills also said the facility provides the citizens of Basra a modern stadium to host and watch sporting events like football (soccer), basketball, volleyball and Tae Kwon Do, as well as other sports.

The project renovation began in September 2008, and was completed in April.

At the peak of construction, the project renovation provided jobs for about 50 local workers a day.

The Basra Area Office is currently managing an additional 19 projects worth approximately $110 million.

MNF-I
By A. Al Bahrani
Gulf Region South

The new U.S. ambassador to Iraq Christopher R. Hill participated in his first ribbon cutting ceremony May 7 at al-Qudas Power Plant, located northeast of Baghdad. The U.S. government has been funding a $176 million expansion project at the existing power plant, which plays a key role in power generation for the Iraqi national power grid.

A site tour and ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by Iraq’s Minister of Electricity, Dr. Karim W. Hasan, marked the completion of the successful, joint venture between the U.S. and Iraqi governments.

“This important addition to the ministry’s inventory of generation sources will help to guarantee the sustainability of our most recent output gains,” said Hasan. “This Qudas expansion project points the way to the day when we will be able to meet the electricity power demands of all the Iraqi people.”

The project was funded through the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund, which was established by the U.S. Congress November 6, 2003, and allocated $18.4 billion to rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure. Al-Qudas expansion project is the final power generation project constructed using IRRF funds.

The U.S. State Department’s Iraq Transition Assistance Office provided program management, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division in Iraq provided contract and construction management of the project. The Ministry of Electricity undertook site work including new water and fuel connections, major tank and piping refurbishments and major electrical connections.

“I am extremely proud of the team that has worked here to expand the Qudas Power Plant’s power generation capabilities, and I applaud the efforts of all involved, particularly our partners at the Ministry of Electricity and the U.S. State Department,” said Maj. Gen. Michael R. Eyre, commander of the Gulf Region Division.

The expansion project is the largest power plant generation project both in scope and dollar amount overseen by GRD. The project, which began in September 2006, included the installment of two new General Electric Frame 9E generators and all supporting infrastructure including a new switch yard, trunk lines and processing center for the crude oil. When operating on crude oil each generator is capable of daily adding 100+ megawatts of electricity to the Iraqi power grid, for a combined 200 megawatts.

This large scale expansion project was Iraqi designed and constructed and will be Iraqi operated. The contract was awarded August 2006 to a joint venture between Uruk Engineering Services Company LLC and Baghdad Company for Gas Turbine, Ltd., both Iraqi-owned companies.

“Iraqis should be proud of their Ministry of Electricity and the Iraqi contractors and workers who have contributed to reaching this important milestone,” said Eyre. “I couldn’t be more pleased at the work we accomplished together, working side-by-side.”

The project provided meaningful jobs to people in the local area, employing as many as 400 Iraqi workers at the height of construction.

Eyre went on to add that the project’s construction provided an invaluable opportunity to develop the Iraqis’ abilities to design and construct their own power plants. “It is probably one of the aspects of this project I am most proud of,” Eyre said.

All safety and operational testing of the two turbines was completed May 4 and the turbines were deemed fully operational. The ministry has signed a letter of acceptability and has assumed responsibility for the daily operations and maintenance of the project.

“In recent surveys the majority of Iraqis are indicating that their number one concern is essential services, where in the past it has been security,” Eyre explained. “Providing essential services to the Iraqi people has been a cornerstone of the construction mission for GRD. Qudas is an example of what we’re all about, building a strong foundation today for Iraq’s future and doing that together.”

Within the electricity sector, using Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Funds, GRD has completed 457 projects, valued at $2.116 billion. These projects fall into three major categories: distribution, transmission and generation.

MNF-I

What do you do with your garbage? Today, in Kirkuk, Iraqis have the best choice they have ever had.

The $8.8 million sanitary landfill project in Kirkuk, which meets both the highest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and European Union Landfill Directive standards, is the first environmentally engineered and constructed landfill in Iraq. USACE photo.

Engineers estimate the residents here [Kirkuk] discard 900 tons of trash a day. So like other major cities in the world, this one faces an age old problem: what to do with all that trash. The city is serious about solving its garbage problem and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is part of a joint, multi-national effort to provide solutions.

For years, residents here have been dumping their garbage into unregulated areas or merely unloading it in open fields outside the city. This unrestricted dumping has the potential to cause serious health, environmental and public safety concerns.

To solve the city’s garbage problem, the Coalition Force’s Brigade Combat Team (BCT) initiated a sustained Solid Waste Management Program for Kirkuk in 2005. To find an environmentally safe solution to the city’s garbage collection and disposal dilemma, the BCT partnered with multiple agencies.

The central piece to the initiative is the $8.8 million sanitary landfill project, which meets both the highest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and European Union Landfill Directive standards. This site represents the first environmentally engineered and constructed landfill in Iraq.

The landfill project, built using the Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP) fund, was completed by the Irbil-based Zana Group in February 2008. The 48-acre site is located 10 miles south of Kirkuk and has an expected lifespan of 10-12 years, according to the engineers.

To increase the capacity of landfill sites and to conform to current EPA standards, solid waste must now be processed through a transfer waste station where garbage is compacted. The Kirkuk landfill will soon have two solid waste transfer stations to provide added capacity and to compact the trash before being transferred to the landfill.

The Gulf Region North district’s Kirkuk Area Office is the contract manager for the construction of the solid waste transfer sites. The Dalo Construction Company of Kirkuk completed the first transfer station, located south of the city, in December 2007. The second solid waste site, located just north of the city, is scheduled for completion in June. Each station has the capacity to handle 300 tons of waste per day. At full capacity, eight tractor trailers transfer the 18, 40-ton capacity transfer trailers to the landfill site continuously throughout the day.

“The first waste transfer station is being fully utilized and the Iraqis are implementing some of their own ideas at the waste transfer station. For example, they are removing large pieces of metal from the trash for potential recycling,” explained Lt. Col. J.B. Chadwick, officer in charge of the Kirkuk Area Office. “The site of the second waste transfer station was selected due to its proximity to the Kirkuk Ring Road project, which will allow quick and easy access to the site from the city of Kirkuk and from the waste transfer station to the landfill.”

The price tag for each solid waste site is $2.5 million with funding for the projects coming from several agencies including the United Nations Office of Project Services. The Development Group Iraq Trust Fund is paying for the city’s garbage trucks. The Republic of Korea donated the collection vehicles and loaders used at the sites.

The solid waste sites and landfill will employ over 700 local workers, adding good paying jobs and a much need boost to the city’s local economy.

The Kirkuk Solid Waste Project is a model that can be used for Iraqis to learn proper waste management practices and will dispense with the need to travel to foreign countries to obtain information about solid waste management, according to USACE officials.

MNF-I
By Mike Scheck, Gulf Region North

It’s not a joke. The specs that have grown out of the ADA will make the lives of some seniors in Iraq much easier.

February 12 was a day of celebration in the 4,300-year-old city of Irbil in the northern Kurdish region of Iraq. The Kurdistan Regional Government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Gulf Region Division and contract partners gathered to celebrate the completion of the Irbil Orphanage and Senior Center.

The new facility provides a home for some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens and stands on the site of the old substandard orphanage, built in 1967.

Although the local Kurdish society is traditionally built on extended family support networks, the instability in Iraq during the past decade has disrupted that social network system. The Kurdish Regional Government determined that it must take a more active role to both provide a safe living environment for these special needs residents and offer them rehabilitation programs to ensure that they can integrate into society as contributing citizens.

The new $3.7 million facility has almost twice the capacity of the old orphanage and can accommodate 250 boys and 250 girls in separate dormitories. One hundred destitute senior citizens, who have no alternative means of support, will also live at the new center. Assisted living is a new concept for the region, and planners consider it a logical combination to have homeless children share a facility with senior citizens.

“In the United States, we’re starting to see day care centers on assisted living properties because seniors and kids get along well together,” according to Gary York, the area engineer for the Gulf Region North district’s Irbil Resident Office.

The new facility also has a unique look and modern functional design. At the heart is the multipurpose room, surrounded by six three-story resident halls. The buildings were designed so that the small children’s playground is located in front of the seniors’ home. Other conveniences for the senior center include a hydraulic elevator, extra wide doors and handicap-accessible tubs and showers.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act is of course unfamiliar to the Iraqi people,” York said. “However, there are many features required by the act built into the new facility.” Those features include fire alarms, high-quality hardware and kitchenettes in each resident facility.

“Many responsible individuals and companies from the local area have made generous donations for equipment and furnishing. There is no greater service to your country and community than helping the underprivileged,” York said.

The general contractor for the project was the Zeezna Company.

“The Corps of Engineers was offered a unique opportunity to partner with the Zeezna Company to build a facility that serves such a noble cause: the care of Irbil’s orphans and senior citizens,” explained Col. Margaret Burcham, commander of the Gulf Region North district. “We have taken that opportunity to create a structure that is both beautiful and functional and one that serves as a lasting testament to USACE’s commitment to the reconstruction efforts in Irbil.”

“This project represents tremendous efforts by dedicated people who have worked together to make a difference in the lives of these special citizens of Irbil,” she added.

Other amenities constructed on the orphanage site include a playground, swimming pool, soccer field, guard house, administration building, garden lot, exterior water tanks and parking lot.

USACE’s Gulf Region Division has completed more than 4,400 projects in Iraq, valued at nearly $7 billion. These projects are helping meet the basic needs of the Iraqi people by providing essential services like electricity generation, clean water, sewage treatment, schools and medical facilities.

MNF-I
By Mike Scheck
Gulf Region North

Basra Province will soon see a dramatic increase in the availability of clean water. The $9.5 million water project will increase the Qurmat Ali water facility’s capacity from 4,000 to 16,000 cubic meters per hour.

Mahmood Lafta, Basra water directorate’s design team chief, says the facility’s production will be sufficient to meet the needs of most neighborhoods throughout Basra Province including: Az Zubair, Khor Az Zubair and Umm Qasr.

He noted that once complete, Qurmat Ali will lessen Basra’s dependence on the Sweetwater Canal pump station which is located 90 kilometers north of the city. Taking its water from the Shatt al Arab River, the water facility is located just nine kilometers north of Basra.

“Qurmat Ali will work as an alternative so if the Sweetwater Canal pump station is closed for maintenance or other reasons, the newly-expanded facility will be more than capable of providing fresh water to the people of Basra,” Engineer Lafta pointed out.

Apart from the renovation work, the project includes a new chlorine building and chlorination system, a 3,000-cubic-meter ground storage tank, a new steel intake structure, as well as two new 400-cubic-meter-per-hour water treatment units. The Iraqi crew is currently installing a new switch gear room, two five-megavolt amp transformers, and four new one-megavolt back-up generators.

“We are very satisfied with the construction quality and our engineers are getting more experience by working side-by-side with the contractor’s staff which will ensure a successful transition once the project is finished,” Engineer Lafta said.

“This is an important improvement for Basra’s 2.5 million residents who will now have two independent sources of water for their household needs,” Engineer Lafta concluded.

Providing contract over-watch for this project, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division is helping to jump start Iraq’s economy and to build a strong foundation for the country’s success by hiring locals to perform the work and purchasing materials for the project within the country. Since the project began in January 2008, about 70 local Iraqis were employed on the construction crew and the materials were purchased from businesses in the area.

MNF-I
By A. Al Bahrani
Gulf Region South district