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British firms seek fair share in Iraq rebuilding

Stuart Doughty, chief executive of Costain Group Plc COST.L, also warned handing over control of the reconstruction work to the United Nations - as several countries opposed to the war against Iraq have wanted - would spell delays and inefficiency, in addition to sidelining Britain.

"Let's ensure that those who have been violently against the conflict don't share in the reconstruction," Doughty said in an interview.

Costain, whose projects have ranged from the Trans-Siberian Railway to the Channel Tunnel, said earlier this week it had been in talks with major US firms thought certain to land contracts to rebuild Iraq's schools, roads, ports and hospitals.

However, Costain stressed it had not signed anything.

British engineering and construction firms have worried that strict U.S. procurement rules would starve them of post-war rebuilding contracts by channelling the bulk to U.S. companies.

Intense behind-the-scenes talks prompted Patricia Hewitt, Britain's trade and industry secretary, to call the head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to point out that firms from Britain, the United States' staunchest ally in the war in Iraq, deserve serious consideration.

USAID later said that while post-war reconstruction contracts totalling $1.9 billion will go to American firms, half of that rebuilding work will be open to subcontractors.

"We have had extensive discussions (with UK companies) and there is no doubt that some of the American funds will got to British subcontractors," Andrew Natsios, USAID's administrator, said. While welcoming these assurances, Doughty said he would be more comfortable with explicit guidelines rather than implicit promises.

"It would be good if someone wants to write contract rules out," he said, adding, "Patricia Hewitt and (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair have got to keep up the pressure."

Doughty was emphatically against proposals that the United Nations take over responsibility for reconstruction, saying it would not only exclude British companies but would not ensure work of the highest quality.

"The problem... is if you go down the U.N. route, that means you go to the world to get the best price. They have to go anywhere to get the best price (which is not only) political dynamite, but morally awful," he said,

France, which clashed with Britain and the United States over Iraq, is calling for the United Nations to play a key role in post-war Iraq rather than the United States.

"The UN must be at the heart of the reconstruction and administration of Iraq," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said in London on Thursday.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, echoed that view in Athens.

"The United Nations must be in the driving seat," he said.