Administrator’s Weekly Report — Essential Services (ESS-6ab6e769)

Administrator’s Weekly Report Essential Services 19 - 25 October - 2003 Electricity/Power Objective: Provide Electricity Services that Meet National Needs The Ministry of Electricity continues their planned fall maintenance program with plants shutting down units according to a schedule designed to keep peak output above 3,800 MW. Problems with natural gas supply and breakdowns prevent maintaining peak output goals. Average peak output for the reporting period was 3,648 MW. Maintenance is scheduled to end in time for winter’s cooler months when demand for electricity of heating increases. The US Army Corps of Engineers Task Force Restore Iraqi Electricity is implementing 14 generation projects, nine transmission projects and three management/control projects designed to complement CPA and MOE restoration efforts. These projects will rehabilitate five generation units at three plants, repair five 400 KV transmission lines and add 1,045 MW of new generation. Since August 18, USAID has authorized $24.3 million for Bechtel to provide additional support to manage the CPA’s 4,400 MW and 2004 power generation programs. Transportation Objective: Restore Economically-Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Since October 5th, the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) passenger terminal has been processing passengers for government and NGO charter flights without incident. Passenger screening, customs, baggage handling, ticketing, airplane refueling and other operations continue to function effectively. Plans to transition the commercial side of BIAP from military to civilian control have begun. The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is expected to publish the new Iraqi Aeronautical Journal next month. The publication will provide comprehensive guidance and information for flights to and over Iraq. At a meeting of the World Meteorological Organization and the League of Arab States in Damascus, Italy promised to fund 35 automatic weather stations for Iraq. Once installed, the international community will have access to real-time meteorological data transmitted from collection points throughout Baghdad. The railway security situation continues to deteriorate with only two trains completing their runs last week. October 25th was perhaps the worst single day since the reconstruction effort began with three separate attacks on the railroad system (Iskandariyah, Bayji and Samarra) and one derailment at Al Jernaf.. A concerted review by CPA and CJTF-7 is underway to identify immediate and longer term approaches to solve this problem. In late October, Transportation Minister Behnam and Senior Advisor Darrell Trent participated in high-level talks with transportation ministers and other governmental leaders in Jordan and Syria. Ministers of both countries were supportive of Iraq reconstruction efforts and both offered the use of their ports for shipments to Iraq. Telecommunications Objective: Reconstruct Telecommunications System and Introduce Advanced Technologies On 23 October the Ministry of Communication (MOC) made the first international call through the Al Mamoon telephone exchange in Baghdad using a new satellite gateway. Lucent has installed new switches at four of the twelve Baghdad telephone exchanges. Increased security measures are being implemented at critical exchange sites. Formulation of draft licenses for the three selected mobile telecommunications vendors is on-going in coordination with the Minister of Communications Haider Al-Abadi. The vendors have initiated pre-positioning of cellular equipment with the assistance of the transportation and communications advisors. The CPA has discussed the issue of back-pay for post office security guards with the Iraq Telephone and Post Company (ITPC) and the Regional Coordination Office. The Ministry of Finance will arrange for payment once the pertinent information has been gathered by the Ministry of Communications. The ITPC has reported to CPA that 400 bags of mail are being held-up in Jordan due to a lack of safe ground transportation. The ITPC preferred solution is to fly the mail to Baghdad on Jordanian Air. Health Objective: Improve Quality and Access to Health Care The Ibn Al-Qiff Spinal Injury Hospital has received equipment and supplies to improve inpatient care for 125 patients and general care for approximately 4,000 patients. The hospital is the only facility in Iraq to treat spinal cord injury, and also serves as a teaching hospital for doctors from other Baghdad hospitals. The project is supported by CARE International. A CPA/MOH delegation traveled to Amman to coordinate transition plans for the provision of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies currently being provided by the Oil for Food Program. One alternative being considered is to use Amman as a staging area for collection and distribution. The MOH hosted an Arab media group to tour the Al-Monsoor hospital in Medical City. A number of healthcare related issues were discussed, including training for the staff. The MOH hosted a CODEL lead by Congresswoman Pryce. The group toured Al-Monsoor pediatric hospital and discussed a number of women/children health issues as well as more general issues affecting Iraqi women. Food Security Objective: Provide Food Security for all Iraqis The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has completed renegotiations of 27 Oil for Food contracts. More than 40,000 metric tons of fertilizer, 810 vehicles, planting seed, fungicides and irrigation equipment to be delivered to Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) warehouses. Delivery of fertilizer under the Oil for Food program is behind schedule. FAO currently estimates an additional 60,000 metric tons of DAP fertilizer will arrive by mid-November and the remaining 80,000 metric tons will be delivered by mid-December. An Australian pre-feasibility team has been identified to scope Iraq’s agricultural extension system. They are expected to arrive in Iraq in mid-November. Public Works/Sanitation Objective: Provide Water Supply, Sewerage and Municipal Services The Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works (MoMPW) has confirmed that their target of providing 70% of the population with access to potable water will be met by December 2004 if on-site operations are commenced in January 2004 and funding is secured. At the present, MoMPW estimates that 50% of the population has access to potable water. The Ministry achieved its target of 80% of pre war levels for public access to service delivery in water/sanitation and municipal services by 30 September. The water supplied from the existing treatment plants is generally safe to drink, but remains problematic at the user tap because of old and leaking distribution and reticulation systems. Equipment, spare parts, and supplies remain to be the primary limiting factor. The MoMPW plans to undertake approximately 80 sewer projects to achieve its stated target of providing 15% of the population with sewage access by July 2005. Ninety percent of these projects have no feasibility studies or defined scope of work. The feasibility and scope of work studies for the remaining 10% of the projects were prepared some three years ago and require updating. MoMPW is coordinating with the Ministry of Trade and working with the CPA Operations Center in tracking Oil for Food deliveries, inspection and certification of water and sewer equipment. Education Objective: Improve Quality and Access to Education The Ministry is preparing to deliver the second class of master training for 200 teachers, principals and supervisors based in Baghdad. The first class of master trainers will lead the 5-day program where teachers receive hands-on training in instructional delivery and classroom management techniques. Education Minister Dr. Ala’din Alwan had a successful trip to Madrid where he held bi-lateral meetings with a number of countries. He will also meet with UNICEF and UNESCO representatives in Jordan to rationalize the different data sets that the organizations have produced for Iraq. Higher Education Objective: Improve Quality and Access to Higher Education After 14 years of absence, the Fulbright Program was publicly announced in Washington and Baghdad. The scholarships will be available to Iraqi students and faculty. The first group will enroll in American colleges and universities in the spring of 2004. On October 22 the President of the Iraq Foundation for Technical Institutes and the President of Technical Institute in Sulaymania received an official invitation from the American Association of Community Colleges to visit U.S. community colleges in January 2004. DATE \@ "M/d/yyyy" 4/20/2004 PAGE 4 Al Mamoon Telephone Exchange, Baghdad EMBED MSPhotoEd.3