US army eyes $100m Qatar deal

The US army is considering plans to spend up to $100m (£62m) expanding its facilities at Al Udeid air base in the Gulf state of Qatar.

In a statement posted on a federal business opportunities website, the US Army Corps of Engineers invited contractors to express interest by 15 May in a contract to design and build a range of permanent facilities at the site.

The news comes a week after the US said it was pulling its troops out of Saudi Arabia and moving its regional air command centre from there to Al Udeid.

Before the war against Iraq, the US had about 5,000 troops stationed in Saudi Arabia and a further 5,000 in Qatar.

Under fire

The value of the contract for the proposed work at Al Udeid would be between $25m and $100m, the US Army Corps of Engineers said.

Facilities to be built would include, but not be limited to, housing, dining, gym and medical facilities, a fire station and site security systems, it said.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has been under fire recently for awarding an Iraq reconstruction contract to a company formerly headed by US Vice President Dick Cheney, without inviting other firms to bid.

It has said the contract with Kellogg Brown & Root, a unit of Halliburton, is a "bridge" to a longer term contract for oilfield services that would be put out to competitive tender in the summer.

There has also been criticism that non-US firms have not been permitted to bid for the Iraq reconstruction contracts tendered so far.

It was not stated whether the proposed work at Al Udeid would be open to non-US contractors.