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Basra officials hope new contracts will spur reconstruction

Following years of rampant corruption in reconstruction projects, officials in the Iraqi city of Basra are optimistic that recent contracts concluded with Hill International will spark a construction boom in the city.
An Iraqi soldier stands guard near the Central Metering and Manifold platform (CMMP) at Al Basra oil terminal in the Middle East Gulf November 27, 2013.  The Southern Oil Company is preparing a new Central Metering and Manifold Platform to increase oil export capacity. It will be operational in the first quarter of next year, according to Associate Director Mahmoud Abdul Amir. Picture taken November 27, 2013.  REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: ENERGY) - RTX163GO
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Officials in Basra province in southern Iraq believe that the contracts concluded with Hill International, an American company that manages construction projects, will put their city — which suffers from corruption, a decline in services and worn out infrastructure — on the list of promising cities in the field of reconstruction.

Basra, which is Iraq's only port on the Persian Gulf, exports about 80% of Iraq's oil, and nearly 85% of the country's economy depends on the city's oil and port resources, according to Basra governor Majid al-Nasrawi.

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