ELECTRICITY
USAID's goals include the emergency repair or rehabilitation of power generation facilities and electrical grids. Teams of engineers from the Ministry of Electricity, USAID and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been working since May of 2003 to restore the capacity of Iraq's power system.
Major Accomplishments to Date
- By October, 2003, rehabilitated electric
power capacity to produce peak capacity greater than the pre-war level
of 4,400 MW. Production reached 5,365 MW on August 18, 2004.
- Since achieving record power production
in Summer '04, the Ministry of Electricity - with assistance from USAID
- has begun the standard Fall maintenance process which will necessarily
reduce the amount of power available for consumption. USAID worked
with the MOE to conduct last Fall's maintenance program.
- Repairing thermal units, replacing turbines,
rehabilitating the power distribution network, and installing and restoring
generators.
- USAID has added 600 MW of capacity through
maintenance and rehabilitation work, and also repaired a 400 KV transmission
line.
- USAID and the Ministry of Electricity
are working with partners to add a total of more than 792 MW to the national
grid by December 2005 through maintenance, rehabilitation, and new generation
projects.
- USAID completed a project to convert
two units that produce 80 MW each to operate on crude/heavy fuel oil instead
of diesel which is in short supply.
- USAID initiated a project to rehabilitate 13 existing substations and construct 24 new substations in Baghdad. These 37 substations will improve the distribution and reliability of electricity for more than two million Baghdad residents. USAID recently handed over work on 12 of these substations to the Ministry of Electricity.
Highlights this week
Work is more than 71% complete in the expansion of a power plant in the south of Baghdad. Recently, fire water supports for the main transformer have been completed. Work is continuing on the construction of a retaining wall, the installation and welding of cooling water and drain piping, and the installation of ventilation equipment. Exhaust stack work is ongoing, and work has begun on a deionization unit.
Establishing a reliable power supply for Baghdad continues to be a key goal of USAID's reconstruction efforts in Iraq; with power intermittent on most days, improvements are badly needed.In response to this need, USAID is working to provide new generation capacity at the site of an existing mid-sized thermal power plant in southern Baghdad.Because it is serviced by a heavy fuel pipeline and can accommodate expansion, Baghdad South was designated by the Ministry of Electricity for additional electrical generation capacity.This project has two phases and is scheduled to be complete in July 2005.
Another round of trainings has recently begun under the Power Plant Operations and Maintenance Training program of USAID's Iraq Infrastructure Reconstruction program. The goal of the program is two-fold. First, it is meant to be a short-term source of spare parts and technical support services to alleviate some immediate problems within the Ministry of Electricity's power plants. Secondly, for long-term improvement through training, it will establish a tradition of best operational practices and modern management techniques.
The total electrical generation capacity for Iraq's thermal and combustion power infrastructure is nearly 10,000 MW although it has generally performed at 35%-50% of rated capacity (3,500 to 5,000 MW). Classroom training has begun for 239 Iraqi staff in tiers corresponding to their O&M management level in the Ministry of Electricity (MoE). Tier 1, for five senior ME staff, imparts leadership and strategy training at General Electric's Center for Excellence in the United States. Tier 2 trains 36 plant managers in leadership, advanced plant management and electrical business development at the University of Georgia in the US. Tier 3, train-the-trainer instruction, teaches combustion plant and thermal plant operations to 83 senior power plant staff - foremen and other plant supervisory personnel - at the University of Jordan in Amman. Finally, Tier 4 for 115 plant operators and technicians includes training on calibration and boiler and water chemistry at the University of Jordan. On-the-job-training at several Baghdad thermal plants is also included. The first Tier 3 class has already completed its four week training at the University of Jordan. A second Tier 3 class began training in late February 20. This Tier will also be receiving "Train the Trainer" instruction.
WATER AND SANITATION
USAID's goal is to improve the efficiency and reliability of existing water and wastewater treatment facilities, especially those in the south where water quantity and quality are particularly low. An anticipated 11.8 million Iraqis will benefit from USAID's $600 million in water and sanitation projects.
Major Accomplishments to Date
- Nationwide: Repaired various
sewage lift stations and water treatment units.
- Baghdad: Expanding and rehabilitating
one water treatment plant and constructing another to increase capacity
by approximately 120 million gallons per day; rehabilitating sewage treatment
plants.
- A major wastewater treatment plant in Baghdad began operating in June of 2004; this is the first major sewage plant in the country to operate in over 12 years.
- The sewage treatment system in Baghdad, barely functioning for years before the conflict, will be restored to almost 100-percent capacity, serving 80 percent of Baghdad's population.
- Standby generators are being installed at 41 Baghdad water facilities.
- South: Rehabilitated parts of
the Sweet Water Canal system, including repairing breaches, cleaning the
main reservoir, and refurbished 14 water treatment plants around Basrah
serving 1.75 million people.
- South Central: Rehabilitating two water plants and four sewage plants.
- North: Completed rehabilitation of Kirkuk water plant and continuing refurbishment of sewage plant near Mosul.
- Completed the rehabilitation of a sewage plant in Babil Governorate.
- Sewage plants in An Najaf, Al Qadisiyah, Karbala, and Babil Governorates will serve 440,000 upon completion.
- Water treatment in Najaf and Babil
will serve residents and visitors at Iraq's holiest shrines.
Highlights this week
USAID's work to rehabilitate the Rustimiyah North Wastewater Treatment Plant is about 80% complete. One of the plant's two processing systems has begun to receive sewage flows allowing for operation at about half of its capacity, or 179,000 cubic meters/day. Final inspections have begun on the functioning system and will continue through the first week of March. Hydrostatic testing of piping and installation of gratings is ongoing. Both systems are expected to be complete by the end of April. About 33% of Baghdad's effluent sewage flow from 4.8 million people is collected by sewer trunk lines and conveyed to this sewage treatment plant.
A Community Association of a municipality in Babil Governorate worked with the Community Action Program (CAP) to install a 1,250-meter water pipe connecting the neighborhood's potable water network to the city's water system. This neighborhood, with a population of 5,600, had been deliberately neglected under the former regime, and the existing potable water network had not been maintained for decades. The network was not sufficient to serve the needs of neighborhood residents. The 10-member community association agreed that this was their first priority.
A CAP project improved the sanitation standards of the Immarat neighborhood in Baghdad by supplying mobile garbage bins and removing existing garbage from the area. After the war, trash pickups in Immarat became sporadic. Often, garbage collectors would skip routes in poor areas to work in neighborhoods where residents would tip collectors for extra service. Consequently, poor neighborhoods such as Immarat became massive dumps. In addition, garbage containers in the residential complex were either looted or too old to be used. A part of the community contribution is to ensure the sustainability of the project by arranging for the daily arrival of garbage collectors to the area.
Engineers are implementing the Baghdad Water Distributions Mains project with USAID support. This undertaking involves modeling the distribution system and repairing, replacing and installing new water pipes in Sadr City. The modeling task, constituting 20% of the project, will collect data on and conduct a survey of major water mains in the city. The remaining eighty percent of the task will include extensive repair and replacement of mains, distribution pipes, and valves. With 25km of pipe installed as of late February, USAID expects to complete the project by the end of December 2005.
ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE
USAID supports sustainable economic reforms in Iraq including examining and reforming laws, regulations, and institutions and providing a framework for private sector trade, commerce, and investment. The reforms will strengthen the Central Bank and the Ministries of Finance, Trade, Commerce and Industry - among others.
Major Accomplishments to Date
- Worked with the Ministry of Finance
to introduce the new Iraqi dinar.
- Created more than 77,000 public works
jobs through the National Employment Program.
- Provided technical assistance on accounting,
budgeting and lending activities at Iraq's commercial banks. Trained
116 bankers from the Rafidain and Rasheed banks in six training courses.
- Assisted in management of $21 million
micro-credit program.
- Improved statistical analysis, monetary
policymaking, and bank supervision procedures at Iraq's Central Bank;
offered a two-week banking course to Central Bank staff with the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York.
- Evaluated and updated commercial laws
on private sector and foreign investment.
- Assisted in developing the five percent
reconstruction levy on imports; built capacity of customs officials to
implement levy.
- Developed a government-wide IT strategy
to support the automation of planning, budgeting and reporting processes
across ministries.
- Developed WTO Accession Roadmap in cooperation
with Iraqi officials.
- Provided technical assistance as well
as information on contracting opportunities for Iraqi businesses and entrepreneurs
through business centers.
- Provided technical support for the re-opening of the Iraq Stock Exchange after it was closed down for more than 15 months; 3.6 billion Iraqi dinars ($2.4 million USD) in shares were traded in the first day.
Highlights this week
USAID's Iraq Economic Governance II (IEG II) program cooperates with Iraqi partners to build local capacity to modernize and regulate utilities. As this effort moves forward, Iraqis in the electricity and telecommunications industries are adopting international best practices, and moving toward commercial viability and away from state subsidies.
Electricity. IEG II recently completed a draft paper on meter manufacturers and technology available in Iraq, with recommendations for further action. The paper includes a spreadsheet with information and contact details on meter suppliers in the country. The work will ultimately help Iraqi electricity regulators measure consumption and bill consumers appropriately.
Telecommunications. IEG II and its Iraqi partners are also building capacity in the telecommunications sector. IEG II is currently engaged with the National Communication Media Commission in developing their institutional capacity as the regulator of the Telecom sector. Advisors are also providing technical assistance on the drafting of a Request For Information (RFI) for wireless capabilities.
Work is continuing on programs to promote the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in Iraq. Under the previous regime, it was difficult for would-be entrepreneurs to access the resources they needed to start new business enterprises or exercise their business acumen.
Recent activities have included a second round of the "Micro Finance Pillars" course for 25 participants in Amman, Jordan. PSD II advisors are also preparing a training plan for intensive capacity building of Iraqi staff working in non-bank financial institutions. A strategy paper has been prepared that outlines the needs and key steps for sustainable development of the micro-finance industry in the country and an analysis has been prepared on emerging trends in MSME finance. Recently, credit application, analysis and approval forms were developed for Iraqi banks that are establishing MSME programs. A risk rating system and loan terms and conditions have also been established.
There is an urgent need to increase employment in Iraq. Developing microfinance lending will help address this need by making it possible for poorer Iraqis and people in rural areas to finance small-scale projects. Successful microfinance activities will serve as models for future activities.
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