Electricity in Iraq almost a year after the war is still patchy and clean water scarce but preparations for a multi-billion dollar makeover are underway to catapult the country into the 21st century.
A group of donor countries and international agencies are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi next weekend to discuss how to spend billions of dollars pledged at a conference in Madrid last October to rebuild the shattered nation.
"There is going to be a huge amount of activity going on here if you take into account the Japanese money, the UN and World Bank money and the money that is already flowing from the US," said Andrew Goledzinowski, director for donor cooperation at the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).
The US, which is due to reveal the estimated number of jobs its aid will create in Iraq, has pledged more than US$18 billion for the reconstruction, while in Madrid the rest of the donor community promised a minimum of US$13 billion -- making the largest sum of pledges on record.
Asked how long it will take for the money to take effect, Goledzinowski said: "The Madrid conference talked about a four-year timeframe to get Iraq where it should be -- but the positive impact is being seen already."
The oil-rich nation has the potential to become a model for the region, said the CPA director, who chaired Iraq's Council for International Coordination before handing the title over to the interim planning minister in December.
"The trick is to inject money quickly and let people see immediate benefits of what has happened so that security, stability, democracy and everything else is allowed to take root," he said.
The money promised from overseas will enter Iraq through three different channels all funnelled, in theory, into priority areas outlined by the interim Governing Council and the CPA. The process ultimately will be overseen by a new Iraqi government due to take power from the US-led coalition on July 1.
"This is going to be one of the challenges for the Council for International Coordination," said Goledzinowski, referring to the 23-member body of country ambassadors, which is chaired by Iraq's interim minister of planning and development cooperation, Mehdi al-Hafidh.
The body is charged with ensuring aid from the outside world meets the country's needs.
"Iraqis should be in the driving seat here," Goledzinowski said.
Areas highlighted by Iraqi ministries as vital to achieve a full recovery include rebuilding the country's war-weary infrastructure as well as improving education, health and electricity.
But the US cash and other bilateral aid will be managed by the donating country.
Japan has already spent about US$120 million on reconstruction and humanitarian aid since the war as part of a total grant of US$1.5 billion to the end of March 2005, said a Japanese diplomat based in Baghdad.
Tokyo plans to lend a further US$3.5 billion by fiscal year 2007 and is working closely with the Iraqi authorities to ensure it is put to maximum use.
There is also a pool of multilateral money in the form of two trust funds -- one managed by the UN and the other by the World Bank -- which were established in Madrid.
At present, the World Bank hopes to have at least US$600 million of multilateral money to use in the first year, while the UN is looking at about US$1 billion, according to Goledzinowski.
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