Iraqi contractors seek investors

By Richard N. Velotta

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | 11:01 a.m.

When Americans see their televised daily dose of misery from Iraq, it's hard to imagine that there are people who are anxious to build swimming pools in Baghdad.

But Khalil Al-Gailani is ready to dig.

"Before the fall of the system, we were doing OK," said Al-Gailani, managing director and civil engineer for Baghdad Swimming Pools Construction Co. Ltd. "But after the fall of Saddam (Hussein), it got much more difficult."

The difficulty lies in convincing people of the need for leisure products while the necessities of life are in short supply in Iraq.

But Al-Gailani was at a Las Vegas convention Wednesday with a group of engineers and contractors who develop utility lines, restore power grids, design pipelines and fix infrastructure in the Mideastern nation.

The Iraqis were eager to meet with American contractors.

"There are 41,000 Iraqi workers who are rebuilding their homeland despite the security challenges," said William Lash III, assistant secretary of commerce for market access and compliance.

Lash and his Commerce Department staffers were at the ConExpo-Con/Agg trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Wednesday to introduce 34 Iraqi contractors who are seeking partners and investors to rebuild the country.

More than 135,000 people are in Las Vegas for the five-day show that opened Tuesday and is giving contractors and engineers an opportunity to see the newest construction equipment displayed over an area the size of 40 football fields.

Most of the Iraqi business people belong to companies such as Al-Haikal GRC Group, which has investment, development and construction arms. That company is seeking partners for a variety of infrastructure projects involving electrical systems and control panels.

Lash said the Iraqis are anxious to move ahead to rebuild their country in the face of danger.

"These people are risking capital every day," Lash said, "but they're also risking their lives every day."

One of the companies drawing considerable attention at the networking session was Ranj Co. of Arbil in northern Iraq, a general contractor involved in planning, engineering, construction, repair and renovation. Ranj's hook: managers Susan and Neian Noori are sisters, an unusual circumstance in the male-dominated Iraqi business community.

The Nooris said they became active in their family's business early in life and moved up through the ranks to management positions after they attended Iraqi universities.

About 100 ConExpo delegates attended the event, curious about investment opportunities.

"Contractors are always looking for rebuilding opportunities after hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters,"said Tim Hight, a senior accountant for Ditch Witch, a Perry, Okla., company that builds trenchers for pipe and cable projects.

"We're interested in checking out the possibilities and helping out in underdeveloped areas," Hight said. "Clean water and electricity are necessities."

And swimming pools may also be necessities in a desert climate.

Al-Gailani's Baghdad Swimming Pools has a difficult sales job ahead with news about bombings, kidnappings and violence against contractors grabbing headlines daily.

"You guys make it hard," Al-Gailani said in reference to the media's coverage of continued violence by insurgents in Iraq.

But the swimming pool builder has one thing to thank the American media for -- he recently was contracted to build a pool for the New York Times' bureau compound in Baghdad.