Officials in Basra province in southern Iraq believe that the contracts concluded with Hill International, an American company that manages construction projects, will put their city — which suffers from corruption, a decline in services and worn out infrastructure — on the list of promising cities in the field of reconstruction.
Basra, which is Iraq's only port on the Persian Gulf, exports about 80% of Iraq's oil, and nearly 85% of the country's economy depends on the city's oil and port resources, according to Basra governor Majid al-Nasrawi.