PKP $1 billion Iraqie contract near completion

Maciej Męclewski, the President Polish Railways (PKP), yesterday announced that the group's subsidiaries which specialize in infrastructure renno vation, are close to signing a contracts for almost $1 billion in Iraq. "We are counting for at least four years of cooperation in the reconstruction of the Iraqi railway's. The money which we plan to earn over there, will be spent on the modernization of the Polish domestic network," announced Męclewski. PKP is to cooperate in Iraq jointly with Spanish railway RENFE. The domestic rail carrier is part of a consortium organized by Bumar, which also encompasses Budimex, Ciech, and the Agency for Industrial Development (ARP). These companies will be responsible for the delivery of construction materials and technology used in the process and will carry out most of the work. The contract is to be wholly financed by the government of Kuwait. The PKP group controls eight subsidiaries, which specialize in this field and is expected to announce the privatization process for these companies any day soon, say's a PKP spokesperson. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) A.K.