Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 19, 1991 TAG: 9103190067
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LONDON LENGTH: Medium
The damage inflicted on Kuwait, by both the Iraqi invaders and the allied force that evicted them, is not as bad as feared, the experts said. Moreover, they said, Kuwait's postwar population likely will be two-thirds its previous size, so the country doesn't need to be reconstructed completely.
Competition among bidders is stiff, and the logistical problems of doing business in Kuwait are almost insurmountable, they added.
The speakers made their comments at a government-sponsored conference aimed at helping British bidders win contracts in Kuwait.
They based their assessments on recent trips to the Persian Gulf region and on contacts in Kuwait. They stressed that damage assessments were continuing and some commercial opportunities did exist.
Kuwaiti Ambassador Ghazi Al-Rayes said his country was "completely destroyed" and "the opportunities will be there. It is not three months and finished. It will take five or 10 years to rebuild Kuwait."
But David Douglas Home, director of the investment firm Morgan Grenfell and Co. Ltd. said: "There are opportunities but not so much as we had thought."
Estimates on the cost of rebuilding Kuwait have varied from $100 billion to $500 billion. The United States, which committed the most to the military forces arrayed against Iraq in the war, is likely to get the biggest chunk of postwar rebuilding work, Kuwait officials have said.
Alan Cockshaw, chairman of the engineering company AMEC PLC, said there is a negligible amount of civil engineering work and a limited amount of new building to be done.
"Although there was widespread damage and looting, quite a substantial amount of the non-oil structure remains intact," said John Finigan, general manager of the National Bank of Kuwait.
The oil picture is bleaker, he said. That sector suffered "immense devastation," with the majority of oil wells and production facilities on fire or destroyed, he said.
Kuwait's telecommunications system also was deeply hurt, Finigan said.
But the experts said that of the four major power plants, one is almost intact and should be able to easily supply the country's immediate needs.
They said engineers are still assessing the desalinization plants but there was little damage to the sewage system or the port.
Kuwait's highway system seems to be operating normally, although a substantial cleanup is required. Just one bridge was destroyed and the airport could be repaired soon, they said.
by CNB