U.S. to Review $327 Mln Deal for Iraqi Army Gear

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040227/pl_nm/iraq_army_dc&cid=615&ncid=1480

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq (news - web sites) has set aside a $327 million contract to equip the Iraqi army and will re-evaluate the bids after protests from the losers, companies affected by the move said on Friday.


Nour USA Ltd., which heads a consortium initially awarded the contract, said it had been advised by the CPA the bids would be reviewed as a result of protests filed with the General Accounting Office (news - web sites), Congress' investigative arm.


"We have been advised that the new evaluation will include a re-evaluation of past performance, technical (issues), delivery and price," the McLean, Virginia-based company said in a statement.


Work on the contract was suspended last week following formal protests by Bumar, a state-run Polish arms maker, and another losing bidder, Cemex Global Inc.


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1. This contract had stunk to high heaven

The protesting companies claimed their bids were not adequately assessed, that Nour USA did not have the experience to fulfill the contract and that it made an unrealistically low offer.


On its web site, Nour USA is described as an international investment and development company. Its chairman, Huda Farouki, is a close friend of Ahmed Chalabi, an Iraqi Government Council member with close ties to the Pentagon