British and international construction firms with projects in Iraq are understood to be reviewing the tense situation and keeping in touch with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) overran Ninevah province in the northwest, taking Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, then moved southwards to occupy territory in central Iraq.
However, UK-based firms are typically operating in the secure capital of Baghdad and the southern city of Basra, close to Kuwait, or in the semi-autonomous and oil rich Kurdistan region to the north east.
Consultants that have returned to Iraq in recent years include Aecom, which was appointed in 2010 to advise the new Iraqi government, and has since been reported as leading the consultancy team for a proposed new parliament building.
Other firms involved include Buro Happold, London-based architect Assemblage and Canadian practice Adamson Associates. Zaha Hadid Architects, which submitted an unsuccessful bid for the project, is however designing a new headquarters in Baghdad for the Central Bank of Iraq.
Construction consultancy Hill International is also involved in several projects, although its principal in the country, senior vice president Akram Ogaily, is based in the United Arab Emirates.
According to The New Iraq, a report published earlier this year with the support of UK Trade and Investment, Hill International is providing management services for the first phase of a South Korean-backed project to build 500,000 homes in Baghdad, Basrah and other provinces.The overall cost, including infrastructure, is put at US$35bn.
AMBS Architects was appointed to design a landmark library for Baghdad
In 2012, Building Design reported Hill International was acting as project or construction manager on 12 projects in Iraq, including two stadiums and an opera house.
Anglo-Iraqi architect and project management practice AMBS Architects was appointed to design a landmark teardrop-shaped library for Baghdad in 2011, a replacement for the National Library destroyed by allied troops in the invasion of 2003.
The practice also has several other projects in Basra and Baghdad. However, a member of staff told CM it was not involved in any projects in the Isis-held areas.
Iraq is thought to be home to a population of 16,000 migrant workers from India, most employed in the construction sector, and the website Iraq Daily Journal reports that around 40 have been stranded in the city of Mosul.
The UK government this week pledged to provide an initial £3m of emergency humanitarian assistance to help civilians fleeing the Isis advance in northern Iraq.
There is speculation that the Isis offensive could trigger the break-up of Iraq along an east-west fault-line, while the oil and gas rich Kurdistan region bordering Iran and Turkey hopes to gain full independence from Baghdad.
In recent years it has attracted significant investment from the Gulf States, and its capital Erbil has been dubbed the “new Dubai”.
