January 17 - January 23, 2004

HIGHLIGHTS

Peak electricity generating capacity for 22 January hit a 3-month high of 4,053MW.  The seven-day average production of electrical energy was 80,362 MWh.

I.  Provide Electricity Services that Meet National Needs

Improve generating capacity to 6000MW by July 1, 2004; Fully implement policy on allocation of electrical power; Publish draft of long term strategy; Minimize Sabotage and Improve Security

• As of January 23^rd, 736 MW of generating capacity was on forced (unplanned) outage (43 MW more than the previous week) and 1011 MW was on scheduled outage (2 MW more than the previous week). 
   
• Peak generating capacity for 22 Jan, however, hit a 3-month high of 4,053MW.  During the week 10 (400kV) transmission lines and 6 (132 kV) transmission lines continued to be out of service.  Sabotage and bad weather caused the outages.
   
• The seven-day average production of electrical energy was 80,362 MWh giving an implicit load factor (the average percentage of peak capacity used during a day) of about 84%.

II. Reconstruct Communications and Postal Systems

Restore fixed phone capabilities, Establish wireless service; Establish Comprehensive Regulatory framework; Establish nationwide emergency service; Invest in computers for ministry; and Establish Postal Service

• To date, more than 15,500 subscribers have been connected at al Mamoun and 8,700 are fully operational.  A total of 15,000 subscribers were connected at Baya with 3,300 fully operational.  Six thousand subscribers have been connected at Kadamiya and 7,200 subscribers at Sinak.  The Ministry of Communications is implementing a plan to bring in additional workers from outside Baghdad to expand the line-splicing workforce and accelerate progress.
   
• Al Mamoun is the largest exchange in Baghdad, with approximately 30,000 subscribers.  An unexpectedly high number of faulty lines has been encountered at al Mamoun by the ITPC, which will repair damaged, inactive lines before splicing and connecting them.  The time and effort needed to repair or replace dead lines is not yet known.
   
• The integration of the 12 new switches with the 14 Iraq Telecommunications and Postal Commission (ITPC) legacy switches in Baghdad is now complete.  Once connected to the gateway, Iraqis can make international calls using a prepaid phone card. Active subscribers are receiving inbound calls.  The telephone switch contract will reconnect approximately 240,000 phone lines in Baghdad.  The contract excludes repair of non-working lines, which is the responsibility of the ITPC.

III. Provide Food Security for all Iraqis

Enhance capacity of Ministry; Assure supply of inputs; Strengthen research system; Ensure adequate stocks for Public Distribution System (PDS); Monitor food security; Hand over administration of system in the North; Initiate reform of rations basket; Environment Initiatives

• Short term objective: Encourage the Ministry of Trade to announce a procurement price for the 2004 wheat crop of US$160–180 per metric ton (Target date February 7).
   
• Short term objective: Official termination of the role of Senior Advisors to the Ministry of Agriculture (Target date February 25).
   

IV. Improve Quality and Access to Housing

Increase financing, housing supply, and private ownership

• The Minister of Housing and Construction attended the Iraqi Rebuilding Fair in Kuwait.  Over 1450 construction industry firm, contractors, and suppliers attended.  The Minister also met with the Kuwaiti Prime Minister, the Minister of Housing, and the Minister of Trade and Industry to convey the enormous need for housing in Iraq.  A Kuwaiti businessman donated 200 housing units to Iraq.
   
• The Deputy Minister of Housing and Construction led a delegation to meet with World Bank personnel in Amman.  The delegation discussed World Bank financing programs, including a trust fund for pilot projects to test mechanisms for achieving longer term goals.

V. Improve Quality and Access to Healthcare

Develop health care organizations, management, and infrastructure; Train health care professionals; Secure system; Public health; Pharmaceuticals logistic support; Strategic communications 

• The Minister of Health recently approved the Iraqi National Drug Formulary for roll-out in mid-February.  Over 1300 line items are included in the formulary.  All drugs for the country will be purchased off the formulary.  Work proceeds to create an education and roll-out program to inform health care providers about the new formulary and the medications available.

VI. Improve Quality and Access to Education

Print and Distribute revise textbooks; Refurbish 1000 schools; and reform the curriculum; Improve quality of education; Special programs for girls; Special accelerated learning program

• The Minister of Education returned from UK and US with clear promises of support from the British Council and the World Bank.
   
• Iraqi students are taking mid-term examinations, which will end 27 January. During the following winter break, more secondary school teachers will attend the 5-day training workshops on effective teaching practice that have been underway since September. More than 33,000 secondary teachers will be trained through March 30, 2004.
   
• Ministry of Education engineers have begun conducting surveys of more than 1000 schools throughout Iraq, scheduled to be rehabilitated with supplemental budget funds.
   
• More than 1,500 Iraqi secondary students have applied for an opportunity to participate in a student-exchange program sponsored by the State Department’s YES Program. Students will attend high school in the United States and live with a local family. Next step for the students is a two-stage English language test which will be given in at least three locations in the country. Student applications were received from every governorate.  Ultimately, up to 12 Iraqi students may be chosen.
   
• USAID has completed 1554 “small grants” that involve communities in “enhancing schools”; 67 of which are in conjunction with the MOE.

 VII. Improve Quality and Access to Higher Education

Oversee, reform and reconstruct higher education institutions; Re-integrate the universities in the North; Re-integrate Iraqis with global community; Reform curriculum; and Provide access to essential information

• On December 12, 2003, the Foreign Scholarship Board approved twenty-five Iraqi Fulbright grantees.   Grantees come from all over Iraq.  In Spring 2004, the grantees will pursue graduate studies in public health, law, public administration, environmental science, journalism, business-accounting, and English.  In a personal letter to each grantee, Amb. Bremer wrote: “Congratulations on winning a Fulbright award.  As a Fulbright grantee you have already claimed a place among the most distinguished academics and intellectuals of the past century.”
   
• British Chevening Scholarships are restarting in Iraq.  The scholarships are backed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and administered by the British Council.  Forty scholarships are available now to Iraqi students to undertake UK master studies. 
   
• More shipments of text books in law, medicine science, economics and other fields for universities in Baghdad arrive. Also, more scientific journals have been donated in field of molecular biology, genetics, bacterial pathogenesis, and medicine.   

 
VIII. Provide Water Supply, Sewerage and Municipal Services

Create Organization; Restore services to pre-war levels; Municipal Services;

• An Najaf: Civil cleanup is 74 percent complete. All biofilter media have been removed and the oxidation lagoons have been completed and are processing waste. The an Najaf facility will serve 141,000 people when it is completed in December 2004.
   
• Ad Diwaniyah: Civil work is more than 92 percent complete. Work continues on removing sludge and repairing steel walkways and concrete surfaces.  New drainage piping has been installed.  Ad Dwaniyah will serve 80,000 people when completed in May 2004.
   
• Al Hillah: Civil work is 85 percent complete. All drainage piping has been replaced, and workers have removed all the dried sludge and drainage materials from the tanks and main inlet structure.  Al Hillah will serve 53,000 people when it is completed at the end of April 2004.

IX. Improve Water Resources Management

Strategy to provide uninterrupted water supplies; Strategy to improve water resources; Build ministry capacity; Advance Water Resources Policy

• Mosul Dam hydropower releases have increased from 450 cubic meters/sec to 650 cubic meters/sec to allow for incoming projected snowmelt inflows.  These flows are expected to continue at least through February and are likely to increase after that.
   
• Mosul reservoir is higher than normal.  The cause is due to transmission lines being down over the past few weeks.  Therefore turbine releases were not made to obtain normal levels. Hemrin reservoir is also higher than normal.  It will continue being higher than normal until excessive turbine releases from Derbendikhan Dam are controlled.  Both Debendikhan and Dokan are much below normal levels due to excessive turbine releases for power generation. All other reservoirs are at or near normal operating level for this time of the year.
   

• The Director General of National Mapping and Survey Center has stated that 95% of mapping in the country is available electronically and they are working on restoring the other 5%.  The Ministry is working with the center to establish the equipment requirements to regain full functionality of the center.  Funding will be requested through the donor program.

X. Restore Economically – Strategic Transportation Infrastructure

Re-open airports and airspace; Ensure commercial operations of port; Operate railroad; Repair roads and bridges

• The CPA Ministry of Transport aviation team has distributed the draft “Iraqi Aviation Transition Plan ” within CPA and CJTF-7.  The plan focuses on preparing Iraq’s General Establishment of Civil Aviation (GECA) to take control of all civil aviation matters by July 1, 2004.  The plan is broken down into 20 interrelated activities that will, when completed, provide the foundation for civil aviation in Iraq.
   
• The Iraqi MoT has signed an agreement with Oil-for-Food to provide two transportation specialists at each border crossing.  These representatives will be co-located with the Oil-for-Food border offices and assist in truck transportation matters.   

·     On January 18, 2004, the first Iraqi Hajj pilgrims boarded flights in Kuwait en route to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
 

XII. Support Plans for the Restoration and Preservation of Iraq’s Cultural Heritage and Traditions

Restore Iraqi Institutions and Revitalize Cultural Life

• The University of Baghdad and a consortium of US universities are cooperating to improve the University of Baghdad’s Archaeology program and facilities.  To bring Iraqi Higher Education up-to-date on current practices, Iraqi scholars will attend the 4^th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, to be held at the Free University, Berlin 19 March– 3 April 2004.