Next Round for Iraq Pact Bidders.

Contractors hoping to win a key role in Iraq reconstruction work worth billions of dollars are putting the finishing touches on the first round of bid proposals due at the Pentagon's Iraq Program Management Office this week. The bids for managing nearly $7 billion in design-build construction are due on February 2, 2004 and bids for the actual building contracts are due on February 5. Nearly 600 officials representing contractors, suppliers and subcontractors attended the all-day session in suburban Virginia, near Washington D.C. But many officials from large design and construction firms said the session should have been sooner and limited to prime contractor candidates. Government sources said that under federal procurement law, care has to be taken to ensure that no potential bidder receives an unfair advantage.