Continued violence across Iraq has forced German engineering company Siemens AG to pull its employees out of the war-torn country and U.S.-based General Electric Co. is suspending some of its rebuilding projects, an Iraqi government official said yesterday.
The sharp increase this month in attacks against civilian contractors by insurgents in Iraq is threatening critical efforts to restore the country’s infrastructure, from electricity to water service.
Siemens refused to confirm the comments by Iraqi Electricity Minister Ayham Al-Samarrai in an Associated Press interview. Siemens spokeswoman Paula Davis would not say whether the company expected to meet its contract deadlines.
U.S. contractors such as General Electric and Bechtel Corp. have said recently that they suspended some projects temporarily amid the most violent month since the conflict began in March 2003.
Last month, gunmen killed a Briton and Canadian serving as security guards for General Electric engineers. The Fairfield, Conn., electric and media company is supplying Iraq with power generation and water treatment.
Bechtel, a San Francisco construction firm that has two Iraqi contracts worth up to $2.8 billion, halted work at 10 percent of its sites, mostly in central and southern Iraq, said spokesman Howard Menaker.
The attacks this month also have kept 10 percent of the 850 non-Iraqi workers with the U.S. Agency for International Development, part of the State Department that handles some of the reconstruction contracts, out of the country.
Houston oil conglomerate Halliburton Co., which has $3.6 billion worth of contracts that include putting out oil fires and serving meals to troops, continues operations but has suffered 33 employee deaths in the region.
“Convoy operations have resumed after additional security efforts were put in place by the military to provide the new level of security necessary to move supplies into Iraq,” spokeswoman Wendy Hall said.
Safety measures also slowed down some work for Fluor Corp., an Aliso Viejo, Calif., engineering company that has been working on several power sites. But Fluor spokesman Jerry Holloway said the company has no plans to move employees out of Iraq.
Several companies have insisted that they will meet contract deadlines, despite the declining security situation.
Parsons Corp., a Pasadena, Calif., contractor that is clearing out land mines and rebuilding several areas, has had some Iraqi workers fail to show up at work sites, said spokeswoman Erin Kuhlman.
The absences have slowed down some operations, “but we expect to meet our contract deadlines,” she said.
Joe Cornelison, general counsel for MZM Inc., said the D.C. consulting firm’s 21 employees in Iraq don’t want to return home until their jobs, which include language interpretations and policy analysis, are done.
“They all feel like they’re making a valuable contribution over there,” Mr. Cornelison said.
Seattle marine terminal operator SSA Marine said it is on track to make its June 30 deadline for a $4.8 million contract. The company is helping southern Iraqi city Umm Qasr with port operations, said Andy McLauchlan, senior vice president for business development.
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