Iraq Not Maintaining US-funded project

[Hollow Shells]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An Iraqi power plant rebuilt with tens of millions of U.S. dollars fell into disrepair once transferred to the Baghdad government, according to the U.S. office that tracks reconstruction spending.

The Iraqis' failure to maintain the 320-megawatt Dora plant, considered an important source of power for electricity-starved Baghdad, is just one of the issues hindering attempts to rebuild the country, the latest audit report to Congress concludes.

Also crippling the efforts are anemic capital spending by Iraq's central government ministries and its provinces; continued challenges faced by contractors in fulfilling the terms of their contracts; and endemic corruption.



This article is from GOPUSA's website.

http://www.gopusa.com/news/2007/july/0730_iraq_projects1.shtml

If you would enjoy joining GOPUSA forum (hehe)

http://www.gopusa.com/forum/

[Vincardog]

1. Do you think that is because they built them to US standards? Maybe they should have left them alone

and let the Iraqis who built them in the first place fix and maintain them.

[Igel]

3. A lot of the Saddam-era power plants weren't built by Iraqis.

The Soviets built them.

There was even talk in '03 about having the Russians finish building a plant that they had started, and having them renovate some of the older plants. Built to Russian/Soviet standards, of course.

[Vincardog]

4. They were built to different than US standards. Does it really matter by whom?

My point was that they were built and operated to non-US standards in the first place. If the whole country is wired for some foreign standard how do you expect a US plant to fit in?

[Kagemusha]

2. I'm pretty sure this is the plant built to US specs not Iraqi specs.

There was a really big one that the US absolutely insisted had to be built with US specs, which would let the US run its equipment off it, even though it was incompatible with the Iraqi systems. I think that's the one in Dora here..

Ah well, it's been a while and I can't remember the details well but, good god, it's expecting a lot for them to maintain something not built so that anyone but a non-Iraqi engineer can maintain it.