Construction of U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Completed; State Department Accepts
Work After Rigorous Inspections
Successful Completion of Most Complex Infrastructure Project in Wartime Iraq
is a Remarkable Achievement
WASHINGTON, April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- First Kuwaiti General Trading and
Contracting has successfully completed the design and construction of the new
U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. The U.S. Department of State has accepted
possession of the embassy after rigorous inspections of all buildings and
systems by the State Department's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations
(OBO) and independent experts.
State Department Contracting Officer David Vivian issued the formal
certificates of acceptance and completion and certificates of occupancy on
behalf of the State Department on April 14, 2008, the company announced today.
The 104- acre, 27 building compound is a complete self-supported
city-within-a-city, the largest U.S. embassy in the world and the most complex
infrastructure project yet completed in wartime Iraq. The State Department
established design goals for the embassy so that its personnel serving in
Baghdad will be able to meet all their living needs within the boundaries of
the complex; the embassy includes 619 apartments housing employees, office
space, restaurants, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, volleyball court,
and indoor Olympic-size swimming pool.
Despite the ongoing insurgency, compromised supply routes and unrelenting
risk to the lives and safety of First Kuwaiti workers, the project was
completed in just over two years within the original fixed price budget of
$474 million, an unprecedented achievement.
Wadih Al Absi, Managing Director of First Kuwaiti, said, "This is a
remarkable accomplishment for our company and for the thousands of individuals
whose hard work has made it possible. We are proud of our record of
achievement in Iraq and regard the completion of the new U.S. embassy compound
in Baghdad as an absolute success."
The embassy required a huge logistical effort undertaken in hazardous
conditions. Before First Kuwaiti could begin construction, it first had to
clear the embassy site of old buildings, hidden tunnels and bunkers,
landmines,
and unexploded ordnance. Once site construction began, nearly eleven thousand
truckloads of materials, including 75,000 tons of cement and 28,000 tons of
steel, were trucked in from Kuwait through some of the most dangerous roads in
the world. Supply lines were closed due to military considerations for 232
days, nearly one-third of the project duration, and fourteen trucks of
supplies were lost to violence. The embassy construction site itself was
sometimes the target of direct rocket and mortar attacks. Despite these active
wartime conditions, First Kuwaiti was steadfast in meeting its commitment to
build a project of the highest quality and standards.
Al Absi said that the project would not have been possible without the
active support of the Kuwait Government, which facilitated the immigration of
workers for the project, and assisted greatly with the re-export of
construction materials; exempted the import and export of materials from
customs; and provided extraordinary facilities for the staging of shipments to
Iraq.
Al Absi said he hopes Americans will take pride in First Kuwaiti's
accomplishment. "First Kuwaiti completed this project under conditions that
none of us anticipated. It's a moment to take stock of a remarkable
achievement."
Key Embassy Facts:
-- Area: 104 acres
-- Number of Buildings: 27
-- Staff employed to build embassy: 3500 (average) 7500 (at peak).
-- Total US Staff: 250
-- Total number of American companies employed: 23
-- Truckloads of material brought in from Kuwait: 11,000
-- Number of trucks lost: 14
-- Number of airlifts to Baghdad: 252 planeloads.
-- Days supply routes were closed due to war: 232 (1/3 of entire project
period)
-- Days Site was under direct enemy fire: 12
-- Time from groundbreaking to handover: 33 months (June 2005-April 2008)
-- Completed within fixed-price $474 million budget
SOURCE First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting
Andrew Rice of Saylor Company, +1-202-741-9339, for First Kuwaiti General
Trading and Contracting
