Inquiries on Iraq Project Deluge Bechtel

Bechtel Group Inc. said Wednesday that thousands of subcontractors already are vying for a piece of the company’s $680-million contract to rebuild Iraq.

Inquiries are flooding into Bechtel’s offices around the world, spokesman Mike Kidder said. Potential subcontractors are being directed to register on the supplier and contractor portal on the firm’s Web site.

The online crush Wednesday was so great that the portal suffered noticeable delays.

Meanwhile, the work already is beginning. Bechtel has hired a survey ship to assess damage in the port of Umm al Qasr, along with a dredge to remove silt, Kidder said. Both are expected to arrive in the next few days. The port, a key entry point for humanitarian and reconstruction aid, is largely unusable because of general neglect and a buildup of silt.

Bechtel said it also was working on its other immediate priority: getting the electrical power grid working. Portable generators are being flown to Iraq to provide at least a limited measure of relief.

The contract, awarded last week by the U.S. Agency for International Development, covers the Iraqi rail system and primary harbor as well as roads, schools, power plants and irrigation systems. The work is expected to take 18 months.

The closed, secret nature of the bidding process sparked much controversy and complaint. Federal officials said secrecy was necessary as the U.S. headed to war with Iraq. With the war over, Bechtel has pledged to hire its subcontractors through open bidding.

Bechtel said most of the work would be subcontracted, as is standard for projects of this scope. When Bechtel was building the industrial city of Jubail in Saudi Arabia, 1,600 of its engineers, architects and project managers oversaw 274 major firms and 500 smaller outfits employing 41,000 workers from 39 countries.

Jubail has been one of Bechtel’s biggest projects in the Mideast. The city, begun in 1976, ultimately will be home to hundreds of thousands.