Page 240 - Global Project Management Handbook

CHAPTER 12

LESSONS LEARNED:
REBUILDING IRAQ IN 2004

Charles W. “Chick” Keller
University of Kansas, Edwards Campus, Overland Park, Kansas

Charles “Chick” Keller was director of program management for the
reconstruction program in Iraq during the second half of 2004.
Professor Keller has now returned to his regular job as a professor in
the master of engineering management program at the University
of Kansas. Prior to joining the University of Kansas, he worked for
15 years in executive positions at Black and Veatch, a global
design/build firm, and United Telecom (now Sprint). He has exten-
sive experience in project management, strategic marketing, strategic
planning, and capital budgeting.

In 2003, Congress passed two separate funding bills totaling approximately $20 billion
to rebuild Iraq. The Iraq rebuilding program consisted of 2500 projects spread across six
different sectors: electrical; oil; public works and water; buildings, health, and education;
security and justice; and transportation and communications. This chapter will document
the following relating to the Iraq reconstruction program in the year 2004:
● Design of the original program
● Implementation of the program
● Program management systems and program reporting

● Lessons learned and conclusion

DESIGN OF THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM

The first bill funding the reconstruction of Iraq was passed by Congress in June 2003.
The bill provided $2.4 billion in emergency funding to repair and reconstruct Iraq’s
oil and electrical infrastructure. In November 2003, Congress passed Public Law 108-
106, which provided an additional $18.4 billion of funding for reconstruction in six
different sectors: electrical; oil; public works and water; building, health, and educa-
tion; security and justice; and transportation and communications. The bills were com-
monly know as the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Funds (IRRFs) and were referred to
as IRRF I and IRRF II.
The bills had two important commonalities that drove the definition of the program.
First, the rebuilding of Iraq was to be driven and implemented by the private sector,
and second, program implementation was to be as fast as possible. To accomplish these

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