Come On Down!

"!!!Crazy Abdul has the lowest price in town on flat screen TV's!! Abdul will not be undersold!!! Call BAghdad7-5000 RIGHT NOW!!! and we'll throw in a satellite dish for free!!! Wait!!...we'll supersize that offer with a DVD ABSOLUTELY free!! if you call in the next 5 minutes!!!"

Can't you just imagine local Baghdad TV consumer electronic ads? Maybe they have more taste than our purveyors of electronic goods, one hopes.

More good news gleaned from PortAl Iraq, which bristles with business news and opportunites in Iraq as well as a job exchange. So much of what you will find on the site seems so normal that one almost forgets that Iraq is a complete and utter failure.

Seems Baghdad has the same gridlock and scofflaws that you'd expect to find in any large bustling city.

Revisions to Iraq's traffic code announced

Iraq's Minister of Interior, Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida'ie recently announced completed revisions to Iraq's National Traffic Code. The revised Code includes provisions requiring operator licenses as well as vehicle registration, licensing and safety inspections.

The Code stipulates that fines for violations of the Code be paid directly to an accounts officer at the police sector headquarters.

"Citizens often complain to me about the traffic conditions in Iraq--especially in Baghdad," Minister Sumaida'ie said. "This revised Code will go a long way toward improving traffic and, more importantly, the safety of Iraqi drivers and pedestrians."

While the media obsesses over Haliburton, small, heartland businesses are benefiting from contracts in Iraq providing needed goods and services.

O'Shea Ltd. receives contract to deliver 12,500 consumer electronic products

O’Shea Ltd., a small merchandising company in Kansas City, Missouri, supplied $50,000 worth of consumer goods to Baghdad distributors early in May. The distributors will dispense the merchandise through local sales in Iraq. The transaction’s success has led to additional supply contracts in Iraq for O’Shea, one of which includes an order to deliver over 12,500 consumer electronic products at the end of May. According to O’Shea President Bill Houlehan, the Department of Commerce’s domestic outreach tour to Kansas City on February 15 was where Iraq business opportunities for U.S. businesses were brought to his attention.

After witnessing the success of his own business’ transactions in Iraq, Houlehan believes there are numerous long-term opportunities for his business and others in Iraq. O’Shea foresees employing several Iraqis to assist in the storing, distribution and sale of its merchandise.

The company views its participation in the Iraqi market not only as a business opportunity but also opportunity to help the Iraqi people.

Missouri, eh? Gephardt country.

Traffic cops, electronic goods and garbage pickup...you remember the big stink the Dems made over wasting money on garbage trucks for Iraq don't you? Of course, they would prefer donkey carts.

Iraq's Minister of Environment tours country's first modern landfill

Mishkat Moumin, Iraq's Minister of Environment, visited the Southwest Baghdad landfill site this morning with Project and Contracting Office (PCO) director Admiral(ret.) David Nash. The site, which is being developed by an Iraqi-owned construction firm, will be Iraq's first modern landfill.

"This site will play a major part in cleaning up the streets of Baghdad while protecting the environment" Nash said.

The site will have the capacity to handle 2,230 cubic meters of waste per day and will serve the needs of two million of Baghdad's residents.

The $22 million project, which currently employs over 2,100 Iraqis from the Al Rashid and Al Doura districts of Baghdad, will meet international standards for waste management - a first in Iraq.

The port of Umm Qasr has been rebuilt and handed over to the Iraqi Port Authority.

SSA Marine completes port of Umm Qasr management contract
SSA Marine's contract with USAID to manage the port of Umm Qasr in Iraq was completed on June 30. SSA Marine was awarded the contract after an international competitive bidding process and has managed the Iraqi port since the transfer of control from the British military on May 23 of last year.

SSA Marine was the first contractor to work in Iraq. The port opened first to handle humanitarian cargo and then to expedite the movement of reconstruction and commercial cargoes. Throughout the duration of the contract, there were no disruptions in moving cargoes through the port. SSA Marine also oversaw the regularly scheduled ferry services between Iraq and Dubai.

Over 280 vessels, 1.2 million metric tons of cargo and more than 8000 people have called the port. The main cargoes handled included containers, break-bulk, RoRo, construction, bulk grain, bagged rice and sugar. Cargo increased 400 percent since June of last year. The port has 33 warehouses, 2 container cranes, rail links and good road access. All of this activity resulted in the collection of more than $18 million in revenue for the benefit of the Iraqi Port Authority.

For land bound readers unfamiliar with SSA Marine and those formenting elaborate conspiracy theories while under the influence of aluminum foil and/or the Democrat Party, SSA Marine is a privately-held Seattle, WA company and is the largest operator of ports in the world, including my home city of Oakland.

Posted by feste at July 15, 2004 03:34 PM | TrackBack