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Bidding closes for Canadian bids for Kandahar Airfield upgrades
Last Updated: Saturday, February 7, 2009 | 2:24 PM ET The Canadian Press
The federal public works department's deadline passed Saturday for Canadian companies to submit bids on up to $100 million on upgrades to NATO's main air base in southern Afghanistan.
The work at Kandahar Airfield would involve "improvements to aircraft parking areas, the taxiway and the construction of an ammunition storage depot," according to the notice of intent posted Feb. 2 on the internet.
The U.S. is footing the bill for the upgrades as it prepares to land as many as 30,000 extra troops in Afghanistan to quell the rising Taliban insurgency.
It's unclear whether any Canadian companies entered the competition.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, based in Kandahar, would not comment on the proposal.
The department was active in encouraging Canadian companies to become involved in the $19-billion US flurry of American construction contracts meant to rebuild Iraq after the U.S. invasion.
The former Bush administration angered Canadian companies and the Liberal government of the day in late 2003 by restricting bids to countries that had sent military forces to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
It was viewed as punishment for the Chrétien government's decision to oppose the war.
But weeks after the controversial policy was announced, George W. Bush relented somewhat and allowed Canadian companies into the second round of reconstruction bids worth about $4.6 billion.
Unlike the Iraq war, Canada has maintained a steady military commitment in Afghanistan almost from the outset in 2001.
Expansion in step with campaign against roadside bombs
Published reports have said that the U.S. is undertaking the expansion of Kandahar Airfield in order to accommodate aircraft working for Task Force ODIN.
The U.S. army unit, which until recently was considered secret, is moving to Afghanistan to step up the battle against roadside bombs, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of NATO soldiers, including the majority of Canada's 108 deaths.
The U.S. military credits ODIN with reducing casualties from mines and improvised explosives in Iraq.
The deployment of the task force was considered a top priority for U.S. Defence Secretary Bill Gates during a presentation to Congress last fall.
Task Force ODIN — an acronym for Observe, Detect, Identify, and Neutralize — uses a mixture of unmanned and fixed-wing aircraft to detect bombs from the air.
© The Canadian Press, 2009
Bidding closes for Canadian bids for Kandahar Airfield upgrades
Last Updated: Saturday, February 7, 2009 | 2:24 PM ET The Canadian Press
The federal public works department's deadline passed Saturday for Canadian companies to submit bids on up to $100 million on upgrades to NATO's main air base in southern Afghanistan.
The work at Kandahar Airfield would involve "improvements to aircraft parking areas, the taxiway and the construction of an ammunition storage depot," according to the notice of intent posted Feb. 2 on the internet.
The U.S. is footing the bill for the upgrades as it prepares to land as many as 30,000 extra troops in Afghanistan to quell the rising Taliban insurgency.
It's unclear whether any Canadian companies entered the competition.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, based in Kandahar, would not comment on the proposal.
The department was active in encouraging Canadian companies to become involved in the $19-billion US flurry of American construction contracts meant to rebuild Iraq after the U.S. invasion.
The former Bush administration angered Canadian companies and the Liberal government of the day in late 2003 by restricting bids to countries that had sent military forces to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
It was viewed as punishment for the Chrétien government's decision to oppose the war.
But weeks after the controversial policy was announced, George W. Bush relented somewhat and allowed Canadian companies into the second round of reconstruction bids worth about $4.6 billion.
Unlike the Iraq war, Canada has maintained a steady military commitment in Afghanistan almost from the outset in 2001.
Expansion in step with campaign against roadside bombs
Published reports have said that the U.S. is undertaking the expansion of Kandahar Airfield in order to accommodate aircraft working for Task Force ODIN.
The U.S. army unit, which until recently was considered secret, is moving to Afghanistan to step up the battle against roadside bombs, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of NATO soldiers, including the majority of Canada's 108 deaths.
The U.S. military credits ODIN with reducing casualties from mines and improvised explosives in Iraq.
The deployment of the task force was considered a top priority for U.S. Defence Secretary Bill Gates during a presentation to Congress last fall.
Task Force ODIN — an acronym for Observe, Detect, Identify, and Neutralize — uses a mixture of unmanned and fixed-wing aircraft to detect bombs from the air.
© The Canadian Press, 2009
