Female-owned Iraqi construction company wins contract bid (12/04/05)

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has declared the award of a construction contract earlier this month in southern Iraq as sociologically ground-breaking, because the winning bid was submitted by a female-owned business.

With recent contracting initiatives for the reconstruction effort, the Corps offers opportunities to female-owned businesses as well as those from local provinces when awarding construction and renovation contracts. In this particular instance, USACE has chosen not to name the company in the interest of ensuring safety and security for the construction company, its employees and the construction site.

The contract is for the renovation of an existing police station. At a pre-construction conference, the Iraqi company owner, her mechanical engineer, civil engineer and manager (all female) and male translator were acquainted with the Corps’ contracting and construction management procedures.

During the conference, Robert Hanacek, a Corps resident engineer, emphasised to the women that the contract requirements were considered most essential, as well as introducing the group to Corps personnel who will oversee the construction, including the Iraqi quality assurance engineer assigned to the project.