Jordan's contractors given equal footing with Iraqis in reconstruction projects

AMMAN — Iraq’s construction contractors syndicate on Saturday agreed to grant Jordanian contractors the same treatment as their Iraqi peers as they bid for projects under the rebuild Iraq plan.

The Iraqi contractors also agreed to endorse the classification of Jordanian contractors as is, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The eligibility of bidders to execute government construction projects hinges on their grades, which, in turn, depend on their technical, logistic and financial capabilities. 

Under a memorandum of understanding signed by Jordan Construction Contractors Association’s (JCCA) President Ahmad Yacoub and head of the Iraqi Contractors Federation (ICF) Ali Sanafi, both sides also agreed to accredit the JCCA’s contractor training centre to qualify Iraqi technical personnel. 

Yacoub said that the memo stipulates establishing a strategic partnership in reconstruction projects in Iraq, adding that the sector in Jordan witnessed a qualitative leap after agreeing on allowing Jordanian contractors to operate in Iraq.

Under the memo, the ICF should ban any Jordanian company from implementing any construction work in Iraq unless it has a valid classification certificate issued by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing and is registered at the JCCA, Yacoub noted. 

Iraqi authorities estimate that the country needs $88.2 billion to restore the country following the defeat of Daesh and other terrorist organisations.

Yacoub and Sanafi signed another memo at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation to train Iraqi technical personnel in the field of water and sanitation.

Water Minister Raed Abul Saud said that the agreement allows transferring Jordanian relevant expertise to Basra, to help water authorities there to overcome challenges facing the water sector in southern Iraq.

Abul Saud also expressed the government’s keenness, through the ministry’s Water Authority of Jordan, to share expertise in the areas of water, sanitation and water treatment, voicing the ministry’s willingness to train the largest possible number of Iraqi technical personnel at specialised training centres.  

For his part, Sanafi highlighted Iraq’s need for Jordanian expertise in the construction, water management and sanitation fields, which would contribute to increasing economic cooperation between the two countries and giving an important role to Jordanian contractors in Iraq.