U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Making Progress on Repairs to the Baghdad Police College, Iraq

    WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Army Corps of
 Engineers announced today that its Gulf Region Division is making steady
 progress on completing warranty repairs related to the sewer, water and
 electrical systems at the Baghdad Police College (BPC) in Iraq.
     In May 2006, the Iraqi government took occupancy of seven new
 classrooms and eight barracks buildings at the BPC. The Iraqi government
 immediately began using the college's new facilities for training due to
 the increasing need for the development of security forces in Iraq.
     Shortly after these BPC facilities went into operation, several issues
 arose with the sewage and drainage systems in the restrooms of the cadet
 barracks. The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR)
 identified many of these issues in a September 2006 report on the project.
 The issues identified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in June 2006 and
 those mentioned in the September SIGIR report were addressed during
 warranty work between June-October 2006 and at no additional cost to the
 U.S. government. The U.S. government terminated for convenience the
 construction contract with the project's prime contractor Parsons in May
 2006.
     Since the completion of these repairs, an independent assessment team
 contracted by the Gulf Region Division and college staff and students
 identified problems with the water supply system. Many of these problems
 are within the project's warranty parameters and are being repaired by
 previous sub-contractors. Some of these same problems were also identified
 in the recently released SIGIR report on the BPC project.
     A Gulf Region Division team of engineers is working at the project site
 providing quality assurance oversight on the warranty repairs and will
 address any additional concerns identified by the college staff. The team
 is planning to resolve the warranty repairs through April 1, 2007. The Gulf
 Region Division team is also working with the college staff to develop and
 train personnel on proper operation and maintenance procedures to ensure
 the facilities operate as originally intended.
     All the cadet barracks and classrooms continue to be operational while
 the repairs are taking place. Since occupying these facilities in May 2006,
 the BPC has graduated six classes on time, totaling some 3,800 cadets. In
 addition, more than 1,000 officer trainees are currently attending their
 first year of a three-year program.
     "Repairs are not unique to this project, or other projects in Iraq, or
 any project across the world," said Brig. Gen. Michael J. Walsh, commander
 of the Gulf Region Division. "People should not lose sight of the overall
 success of our construction efforts. More than 2,700 construction projects
 have been completed to date, and the magnitude of effort by agency
 partnerships and the Iraqi people is helping jump start the rebuilding of
 this country."
     Department of Defense projects funded by the Iraq Relief and
 Reconstruction Fund and the Development Fund for Iraq continue to make a
 difference in the lives of the people of Iraq.
     An example of this is electricity. Completed Gulf Region Division
 electrical generation projects have provided an additional 1,420 megawatts
 of potential generation capacity to Iraq's national grid. At the end of the
 program, Gulf Region Division projects will have added 1,879 megawatts of
 potential generation capacity, which can serve an estimated 1.7 million
 homes.
     Completed Gulf Region Division water treatment projects have added over
 430,000 cubic meters per day of water treatment capacity, which potentially
 benefits 2.2 million Iraqis. At the end of the program, an additional
 1,136,000 cubic meters per day of water treatment capacity will benefit
 approximately 5.2 million Iraqis.
     Gulf Region Division has recently completed two new 7,000 square foot
 health clinics in Samarra and Al Qala in the Salah ad Din Province as part
 of the Accelerated Iraq Reconstruction Program. The new clinics will
 provide daytime healthcare services to approximately 35,000 people per
 year.
     Gulf Region Division has completed construction on 839 school projects,
 providing classrooms to more than 350,000 students.
     Several projects to support Iraq's security and justice sectors have
 been completed to include 160 border fort projects, and 9 fire station
 projects.
     Iraq's transportation system has also been improved with the completion
 of 91 railway station renovation projects, 109 village road projects and
 154 aviation projects.
     For more information on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers work in Iraq,
 please visit http://www.grd.usace.army.mil or contact the Corps of
 Engineers' Gulf Region Division at 540-665-5339.
 
 

SOURCE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers