Baghdad, Iraq- The isolated and rural villages located in the outlying Baghdad region have began to breathe a bit easier,
as they are now able to access clean pure drinking water. Many of these villages have not had pure water and they have been relying on age old wells, many of which are literally centuries old.
These wells often are a source of brackish, bacteria laden water. But, with the help of the Coalition and soldiers from the United States MNF division, there has been equipment including two solar powered purifying stations installed in the Mahmudiyah area.
The project installed solar powered water filters at Mahmudiyah Qada, and Lutifiyah Nahia, both villages received these filters on December 16th. There was a ceremony held December 22nd to celebrate the installation, and to showcase the new water access.
The project is a $48,000 dollar CERP water filter job that was given to the Ard Alega Contracting, a local company that is Iraqi owned and administrated. Working closely with members of the US Army Corps of Engineers and supervised by Coalition Forces, the Ard Alega company is an example of the kind of cooperation and success that is possible using Iraqi businesses under close supervision.
More and more Iraqi companies are competitively bidding on Iraqi projects and winning the bids, and it is a wonderful example of the ability for Iraqi companies to do well in the new business environment.
