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Iraq seeks $4.2bn reconstruction funding in 2004
Abu Dhabi, Mar 01: Iraq`s Planning Minister asked for more than $4 billion for reconstruction over the next 12 months on Saturday, but officials at an international conference said donors wanted to know how their money would be spent before honoring their multimillion dollar pledges.
Abu Dhabi, Mar 01: Iraq's Planning Minister asked for more than $4 billion for
reconstruction over the next 12 months on Saturday, but officials at an international conference said donors wanted to know how their money would be spent before honoring their multimillion dollar pledges.
The two-day meeting in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, was a
follow-up working session to an Iraq reconstruction conference in Madrid, Spain,
where a total of more than $33 billion was promised in grants and loans, including $20 billion already pledged by the US.
World Bank and UN officials said that donors were coming forth with some of the funds they had pledged, but that before giving more they wanted to know how the money would be managed and where it would be spent. The Abu Dhabi meeting, they said, was about dealing with the technicalities of managing the aid and instilling confidence among donors.
Iraqi Planning Minister Mehdi Hafedh said that, although he didn't know if he would get all money he was asking for, he was gratified by the response from donors.
In an opening speech, Hafedh said that $3.9 billion was needed for the 12-month period, but the list of projects he gave to donors totaled $4.2 billion. Hafedh later said that $4.2 billion was the amount he was asking for. The cost of the projects would not meet the pressing needs of Iraq but it "would be a sound beginning," he told donors.
"It also represents a set of activities that Iraq realistically has the capacity to implement in a 12-month time frame," he said.
In the meeting, Hafedh presented a list of some 700 projects to rebuild educational, health and government institutions, rehabilitate water and electricity services, and support programs on human rights, the environment and the return of refugees. He said the money was needed over the next 12 months to jump-start the projects.
Bureau Report
World Bank and UN officials said that donors were coming forth with some of the funds they had pledged, but that before giving more they wanted to know how the money would be managed and where it would be spent. The Abu Dhabi meeting, they said, was about dealing with the technicalities of managing the aid and instilling confidence among donors.
Iraqi Planning Minister Mehdi Hafedh said that, although he didn't know if he would get all money he was asking for, he was gratified by the response from donors.
In an opening speech, Hafedh said that $3.9 billion was needed for the 12-month period, but the list of projects he gave to donors totaled $4.2 billion. Hafedh later said that $4.2 billion was the amount he was asking for. The cost of the projects would not meet the pressing needs of Iraq but it "would be a sound beginning," he told donors.
"It also represents a set of activities that Iraq realistically has the capacity to implement in a 12-month time frame," he said.
In the meeting, Hafedh presented a list of some 700 projects to rebuild educational, health and government institutions, rehabilitate water and electricity services, and support programs on human rights, the environment and the return of refugees. He said the money was needed over the next 12 months to jump-start the projects.
Bureau Report