The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has a requirement for Provision of Upgrade, Reapair and maintenance of Public Announcement (PA) System for the newly constructed buildings at UNAMI Regional Headquarters, Erbil, Iraq. The system should effectively cover the entire compund and making public announcements clearly audible in all areas and buildings within the compund.

UNAMI is intends to award this contract for one year, with an option of extension for additional Four consecutive one year periods at UNAMI’s discretion and also subject to service provider performance which should be satisfactory.

The services shall be provided and executed by a qualified and experienced company based on detailed scope of works, the UN General Conditions of Contracts for provision of Goods and other related documents which will be provided later on by UNAMI to qualified companies who express their interest and qualify for the tender. For this purpose UNAMI will under take a competitive bidding exercise shortly.

Please note on the following:

This EOI is not an invitation for submission a bid.

UNAMI reserves the right in selecting the invitees for the competitive bidding based on substantial and proven records of performance in the subject field of activities and mere expressing an interest would not automatically warrant for ITB document.

UNAMI reserves the right to reject EOI’s received after the deadline (08-02-2012 12:00 AM * GMT(+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Vienna, Prague, Brussels )

Kurdish oil minister Ashti Hawrami (pictured) has confirmed the names of the six exploration blocks awarded by the Kurdistan Regional Government to ExxonMobil:

• Al Qush, northwest of Erbil city and formerly assigned to Komet Group but withdrawn for lack of development;
• Bashiqa, southeast of Al Qush town;
• Pirmam in Erbil;
• Betwata;
• Qura-Hanjeer, southwest of Chamchamal; and,
• a sixth block located along the border with Iran near the Penlwin border crossing.

(Source: Dow Jones)

A new silo with a storage capacity of 60,000 tons of wheat is under construction in Erbil province, according to AKnews.

An advisor to the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Ministry of Trade and Industry, Faris Majid, told the news agency that the new project, worth $21 million, occupies a 70-acres site on the Erbil-to-Gwer road in the west of the province.

The Italian company which has undertaken the project is expected to complete construction by July.

Currently there is only one silo in central Erbil (16,000 tons) and one in its Makhmur suburb (100,000 tons). The silos have a limited capacity comparison to the annual volume of harvested wheat in the province, which can be as much as 180,000 tons.

The official said that the Ministry has also proposed to construct 4 more silos in Qushtapa, Chamchamal, Sharazur and Makhmur, each with a capacity of 40,000 tons.

Earlier Kheirullah Hassan, Kurdistan trade minister, told AKnews that Iraqi Trade Ministry has planned to construct 14 more silos in all Iraqi provinces, including those of the Kurdistan region, 2012 through 2014.

(Source: AKnews)

AKnews reports that there will be fewer international expos in Erbil this year. .

Latif Aref, head of Erbil International Fair, told AKnews that in the previous year 13 international expos were held in Erbil, while only 10 are planned for 2012.

An expo will be organized every month except for July and August, because of the high temperatures during these two months.

The managing board of Erbil Expos is now specifying a schedule for the exhibitions. Only one expo will be general and the rest will be exclusive to certain fields, Aref added.

Since the establishment of its exhibition space in 2005, Erbil has hosted over 50 international expos.

(Source: AKnews)

Levels of violence fell in Iraq over the past week, with attacks concentrated in Mosul, Baghdad and Kirkuk. There was a scattering of incidents throughout the central provinces and a notable bombing attack on oil and gas infrastructure in Basrah province. Bomb attacks left at least 15 people dead and 77 injured, a decline from the previous week, while a consistent number of small arms attacks left 15 people dead and seven injured. There were no suicide attacks recorded over the course of the week, and the country should now be considered statistically overdue.

Politicking
The political situation appears to have deteriorated considerably over recent days. There are growing concerns that the arrest warrant for vice prime minister Tariq al-Hashimi will bring Iraq’s political communities to the brink of confrontation. Whether or not there is truth in the allegations made against al-Hashimi, the ongoing pursuit of alleged Ba’athists and suspected terrorists from the Sunni community in the central provinces will increase suspicions amongst the public that a witch hunt is underway. This is hardly a situation conducive towards reconciliation, development and advancement in the post-US era of the country and does not bode well for stability and security in 2012.

The Withdrawal
AKE issued a risk advisory for Iraq following the withdrawal of US forces which concluded on 17 December. US counter-insurgency operations will no longer take place on the ground while training of the Iraqi security forces has also been significantly scaled back. The country now faces a security gap, which various threat groups, both domestic and external may attempt to capitalise on. Violence may therefore rise over the course of 2012, not least as the political environment appears to growing more competitive and confrontational.

Medical Concerns
From a practical perspective foreign personnel will no longer be able to rely on advanced medical treatment in the event of illness or injury in the country. Organisations should therefore aim to be as medically self-sufficient as possible and ensure that employees have sufficient evacuation, repatriation and insurance cover in advance of travel. Organisations should also strongly consider taking medically trained personnel with them on deployments. For further information on security and medical support in the country please email operations@akegroup.com.

Abductions
Three people were kidnapped in separate incidents in the central provinces last week, including a mayor in Babil province who was later found shot dead. Three ministry employees abducted last week were also found shot dead in Salah ad-Din province. AKE will be producing its quarterly update on worldwide kidnap trends in the new year. If you would like to be added to the mailing list please complete your details here.

Basrah Bombings
Up to three improvised explosive devices targeted oil pipelines servicing southern oilfields last week. There were no casualties but open sources indicate that the pipes were damaged and local output was reduced by half for at least a day. While an investigation is ongoing, there is widespread speculation over the threat group behind the incident. With the perpetrators potentially either from local communities along the length of the pipeline, or amongst energy workers themselves, the importance of due diligence, employee consultation and community engagement has once again been highlighted. It is not economically feasible to station guards along the entire length of pipeline infrastructure, but engaging with local communities and staying in close communication with employees will work well towards mitigating the risk of further violence. Needless to say, close relations with local communities will also work towards empowering the Iraqi public and illustrating that the energy sector is there for the good of the country, and not to steal a sovereign resource.

John Drake is a senior risk consultant with AKE, a British private security firm working in Iraq since 2003. You can access AKE’s intelligence website Global Intake here, and you can obtain a free trial of AKE’s Iraq intelligence reports here.

Avnet Technology Solutions, an IT solutions distribution leader and an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), will hold a special training program “HP Networking Academy” in association with HP Networking division. As part of Avnet’s Value Add program the training is designed to enrich the skill set of channel partners and to update them on latest developments.

Fadi Bawab, Channel Manager Iraq, Avnet Technology Solutions, said, “Most of the existing channel trainings are held outside of Iraq. Due to high travel cost and existing visa issues this means that the majority of local channel partners and customers from Iraq miss out opportunities to update themselves with the latest technology. We believe that this academy will provide a great platform for many more local partners and end users to be on a par with rest of the region”.

The two-day academy will be held on 20th and 21st December 2011 in Erbil, Iraq. The first day of the academy will host end users and customers along with key partners, while the second day is exclusively for local channel partners coming from all parts of Iraq.

Experts from both Avnet and HP will give an overview and technical training on HP Networking products, including the latest developments and offerings, especially tailored for partners in Iraq.

For channel partners, the training includes the HP Networking certification as a special benefit.

HP will offer this certification free of cost as the certification has proven to enable channel partners to win more projects, as well as deploy and configure HP Networking solutions on their own in Iraq.

Osama AbdElHai, Channel Manager HPN, Avnet Technology Solutions, said, “Avnet has taken several training initiatives for the local channel partners and customers in Iraq before. It is our mission to support partners, to upgrade their knowledge base and skills sets and help them grow their business”.

Construction has started on Best Western’s first two hotels in Iraq which will operate under the Best Western Premier brand in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, reports Hotelier Middle East.

The 82-room Best Western Premier Erbil Airport will be the first to open in 2013, located near to the recently-opened Erbil International Airport.

This will be followed by the opening of the 160-room Best Western Erbil in the city centre in the first quarter of 2014.

“Iraq was chosen for Best Western’s next step of brand expansion in the Middle East based on various positive aspects of the nation. These include the historical values, the country’s economy, the people and its financial resources, all of which are key elements in the immense potential of Iraq as both a major business centre and tourism destination. And Erbil, as a prominent trading centre with key road links and increasing air access, is a natural choice for our first hotels in Iraq”” said Glenn de Souza, Best Western International’s vice president international operations – Asia & the Middle East.

Owner Golden Mountains Company chairman Eng. Handren Azzo added: “Looking at the global sales and marketing reach, revenue generation and promotional power to be gained by us the hotel owner, the city of Erbil and the wider destination of Iraq itself, the decision to go with Best Western was an easy one”

“We very much look forward to impressing visitors to Erbil with hotels that combine the world-class standards of Best Western International and the unique character of Iraqi Kurdistan hospitality”.

(Source: Hotelier Middle East)

The U.S. government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) participated this week in the 4th Iraq Agro-Food Expo in Erbil, showcasing the success of the USAID-Inma Agribusiness Program and highlighting beneficiaries. The success of this program is an example of US-Iraqi cooperation, under the auspices of the Strategic Framework Agreement, in support of domestic agricultural production in Iraq.

The Iraq Agro-Food Expo, one of the largest agricultural trade shows in Iraq, got underway November 21 with hundreds of industry-related businesses, associations, and government representatives gathering in Erbil. The expo offered an excellent opportunity for Iraqi farmers, processors, and distributors to make vital international contacts that can help develop Iraqi agribusinesses. It also offered international companies the opportunity to gain a foothold in a lucrative Iraqi market that will be expanding and developing for decades to come. Product groups showcased at the expo included agricultural products and machinery, food and beverages, fertilizers and pesticides, food additives, processing technology, and packaging materials.

The U.S. government’s exhibition at the Expo was organized by the USAID-Inma Agribusiness Program. Staff members at the exhibit showcased a number of USAID-supported products and programs including the Euphrates Fish Farm, the Rabee Transplant Nursery, Vano Feed Mill products, Al Basrah Dates, olive oil from the Al-Zaytoon Olive Association in Ninawa province, strawberries from nurseries in Sulaymaniyah, Anbar Rice samples from the Al-Rawadi Widows and Orphans Welfare Organization from Baghdad, mushrooms from the Hameedyah Mushroom Farm in Anbar province, and meat products from the Blann Butcher Shop in Dahuk.

The Iraq Agro-Food Expo, which ran from November 21 to 24, was established in 2008 to exhibit agriculture technology, food, food processing, and packaging. The event attracts decision-makers from the industry, as well as officials from the central Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Last year’s event marked one of the largest in its history with more than 350 exhibitors from 17 countries. The event attracted more than 18,000 visitors from 25 countries as well as 40 media representatives.

(Source: US Embassy)