• 1. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
• 2. SECURITY
• 3. AIR OPERATIONS
• 4. BORDER CROSSING AND CUSTOMS
• 5. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
• 6. LOGISTICS COORDINATION
• 7. CIVIL-MILITARY COORDINATION
• 8. FUEL
• 9. OTHER

1. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Baghdad international airport is scheduled to open for commercial flights between the 1st and 15th of July.

The 'tax free' holiday in Iraq has been promulgated and will be in place until the 31st
of December, 2003.  This will make Iraq the largest tax free haven in the world.

Umm Qasr port was opened officially for commercial freight at 13:00 hours on the 16th of June.  

A controlled demolition of the Ar Ramadi overpass, 174km west of Baghdad, was undertaken earlier this week by coalition forces.  

2. SECURITY

Iraq: Baghdad:  Security phase 4. Governorates of Anbar and Diyalka are security phase 5 except for highways 10 and 2.

Mosul: Security phase 4. Demonstrations in Mosul by former Iraqi military on the 12th June resulted in two civilian fatalities and the burning down of a police station.  It was reported the military lost control of the city centre for a period of 24-48 hours.

Basrah: Security phase 4.  Security situation poor with 2-3 security incidents reported daily.  UNJLC and WFP cars have been surrounded by hostile crowds demanding overdue payments.  Agencies have been advised to 'slow down' their operations in the area

Al Hillah: Security phase 4. No incidents reported.

Jordan: The country remains at security phase 2.

Syria: The country remains at security phase 1.

Kuwait: The country remains at security phase 1

3. AIR OPERATIONS

As previously reported, planned flights are still subject to short notice changes imposed by the Office of the Coalition Provisional Authority (OCPA) such as the sudden closure of Baghdad International Airport on the 10th June.

Details of passenger flights operating to fixed schedules, Saturday to Thursday, from Amman are available on the UNJLC website.  Mosul is now being used as the destination for scheduled passenger flights to Northern Iraq instead of Erbil.  It is likely that Kuwait will be withdrawn from the schedule as there is little demand for the service.  UNJLC/UNHAS intend to publish an updated schedule on the website a week before the new schedules take effect.

The service between Amman and Larnaca operating three times a week will continue for the time being.

Airspace/Airfields.  The non-availability of aviation fuel continues to be a major operating limitation. The procedures published by RAMCC on their website was updated on 5 Jun 03.  Thus far, we have used Baghdad, Basrah, Erbil and Mosul airports.  Although not stated in the AIP, 72 hours notice is required for flights in to Mosul.  The IL 76 cargo only aircraft has now been to Baghdad 4 times and once to Basrah.  The Boeing 737, 100+ seat aircraft arrived on 21 May and is regularly serving Basrah, Mosul and Kuwait from Amman.

Utilisation of Cargo Aircraft.  Since the start of the Iraq Emergency, 1,157 tonnes/6,105 m3 have been moved over 165,000 nm in 729 flying hours.

The next meeting of the Humanitarian Aviation Board will take place in Baghdad on the 25th June 2003.

The Air Cargo User Group meeting planned for the 27 May in Amman had to be deferred due to the move of the UNJLC; a new date will be published soon.

Baghdad international airport is scheduled to open for commercial flights between the 1st and 15th of July.

Qatar airlines operated a single humanitarian cargo flight from Doha to Basrah on the 10th of June.  They told UNJLC that no further flights would be undertaken until they were satisfied that the receiving airports were fully capable of handling commercial operations.

UNHAS has compiled a comprehensive list of NGOs that are registered to use UNHAS services in Iraq.  Priority will be given to UN implementing partners followed by NGOs recognised by OCHA and engaged in humanitarian aid activities.

The weekly UNHAS flight schedules are posted on the UNJLC website at http://www.unjlc.org/iraq/air/02_01.html.

4. BORDER CROSSING AND CUSTOMS

The 'tax free' holiday in Iraq has been promulgated and will be in effect until the 31st
of December, 2003.  This will make Iraq the largest tax free haven in the world.

Umm Qasr port was opened officially for commercial freight at 13:00 hours on the 16th of June.  Dubai customs and Immigration staff are assisting in setting up basic manifest and checking procedures.  SSA will give priority to the berthing and unloading of vessels carrying humanitarian, reconstruction and military cargo.

Following a concern WFP raised about long turnaround times for trucks entering Iraq from Turkey, a joint WFP/UNJLC mission interviewed customs officials at the Southern Turkish/Northern Iraqi border crossing point of Habur/Ibrahim-Khalil.  It was found that while the Iraqi customs were open 24/7, the Turkish side was only operating from 08:00 until 00:30.  In addition, no customs processing was occurring at lunch or dinner times.  WFP/UNJLC are planning to raise this issue with the Turkish customs authorities.

In the south, Abdaly border crossing is open for humanitarian and commercial traffic.  Over the last few weeks there has been an increase in the amount of humanitarian traffic carrying water and food.  The border is open 24hours a day, 7 days a week for humanitarian traffic and 06:00 to 18:00 hours for commercial traffic.  Despite this, there have been reports, particularly from UNICEF, that there are delays at the border of up to 2-3 hours every day.  Additionally, the population in Safwan continue to obstruct and delay trucks forcing some trucks/tankers to off-load cargo locally.

At the Jordanian/Iraqi border (Al Karamah), UNJLC has deployed a logistics clerk to join the WFP team in identifying humanitarian trucks eligible to use the westbound humanitarian lane.  The UNJLC clerk has been specifically placed to support the movements of ALL UN trucks to ensure reduction of bottlenecks.

The Jordanian customs and coalition are keeping the Jordanian/Iraqi border open 24hrs a day as of the 16th June.  In addition, the director of customs has authorised the deployment of an additional 38 customs officers.  

An additional humanitarian lane for westbound traffic from Iraq to Jordan will be established by the Government of Jordan to reduce the frequent tailbacks.

The Syrian Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Mostafa Miro has confirmed his support to use Syria as a corridor for both humanitarian goods and goods under the oil for food programme to Iraq.

The smuggling of fuel into Syria is becoming an issue as it is slowing the turnaround times of trucks entering Iraq from Syria.  It has been reported that trucks, after unloading their cargo in Northern Iraq, are loading up with fuel and bringing it back through the Al Tanf/Al Walid border crossing points.

A border crossing map is available at http://www.unjlc.org/iraq/border/01_01.html.

5. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

A controlled demolition of the Ar Ramadi overpass, 174km west of Baghdad, was undertaken earlier this week by coalition forces.  All 6 lanes of highway 10 which runs under the overpass are now cleared and open.

Bechtel is working on prioritising reconstruction work in Iraq.  The five main areas of work are electricity, water, roads and bridges, buildings/schools/clinics and telecommunications.

5.1 UMM QASR PORT UPDATE

The port re-opened for commercial operations on 17 June.  Priority will be given to importation of aid and reconstruction cargo.

Latest information from Barwil on Umm Qasr Port is as follows:

Security

Following repeated incidents of looting, SSA Marine (the port operator) has taken steps to improve security in the old port (berths 1 to 10).  New fencing will be in place by 1 July and SSA intends to recruit more security guards, mainly ex-Iraqi military personnel.

Dredging

Work on the grain berth was due to be completed yesterday (17 June) giving an available depth of 13.5m.  Dredging in the new port (berths 11 to 21) starts today, 18 June. The work will begin in berths 20 and 21 which will be dredged to an available depth of 12.5m (vis-à-vis 8.6m at present).  By 31 July, all berths should have an available depth of at least 10.5m.  By the end of November, the entire port should have an available depth of 12.5m.

Port Operations

SSA has introduced a new "vessel booking" form which must be used when shipping companies book a call.

A proposal for new tariffs has been submitted to USAID.  Approval is expected within the next few days.  Once tariffs are agreed, details will be available from SSA's Information Centre at Barwil Kuwait:

Tel:                +965 481 8673
Fax:                +965 484 0576
E-mail:                 ssa.ummqasr@barwil.com

USAID reports that the Iraq Port Authority remains responsible for security, waterside services and crane maintenance.  Two large lifting cranes with an estimated value of 4-6USD million will need to be replaced in due course.

6. LOGISTICS COORDINATION

At a UNJLC/HACC interagency meeting organised in Al-Hillah, DART expressed concern that there was no overall agency addressing UXO issues in Iraq.

UNJLC Erbil, hosted an interagency customs working group on the 15th June to provide a brief on the current customs situation in the North.  Many agencies requested UNJLC to compile an update on the border crossing points and customs procedures for the north.  This will be compiled and posted on the UNJLC website shortly.

7. CIVIL-MILITARY COORDINATION

It has been announced that the Humanitarian Operations Centre (HOC), Kuwait, originally scheduled to close on the 30th June will now continue to operate until th 30th September, 2003.

8. FUEL

Oil production in the south is running at less than 10% of surface capacity largely due to a lack of storage facilities. The commencement of crude exports in earnest from the offshore Mina Al-Bakr Oil Terminal in the coming weeks will greatly ease this pressure and allow substantially increased production. Significantly, this will generate more gas and, plant capacity allowing, should assist the supply situation. Oil production in the north is now estimated to be approaching 60% of surface capacity.

Significant quantities of gasoline continue to be trucked in from Turkey, Jordan and Kuwait, sometimes in quantities of 4 million litres per day. LPG is being imported from Turkey but is unavailable in Kuwait in the quantities required. Plans are in place to import a shipload of LPG through the Khor al-Zubayr terminal, upstream from Umm Qasr.

Infrastructure: The run down state of the industry's infrastructure and shortage of spares, combined with the effects of looting, continues to limit production, refining and distribution capacity. OCPA contractors are making steady but slow progress in assessing work needs and rehabilitating the industry to pre-war levels.  UNJLC is focusing significant effort on expediting the delivery of much-needed spares, materials, equipment and chemicals acquired by Iraqi under the Oil-For-Food Programme.

Refining: Refinery production in general continues to be plagued by the effect of damage to the national grid and the general state of the industry infrastructure. Power interruptions – often caused by looting of transmission lines and other equipment – are adversely affecting overall refinery productivity. Plant availability is running at about 50% for refined products and much less for LPG. Basrah Refinery has maintained the increased level of production achieved after bringing a second train on line in May but this has been partially offset by the effects of a planned maintenance phase at the country's largest refinery at Baiji, north of Baghdad.

Diesel. Stocks of diesel remain high and it is generally (although not universally) available, even though queues at filling stations may be long. However, smuggling to neighbouring countries by barge and retrofitted fishing boats, and illegal tapping of pipelines, continues to be a problem. This is unlikely to cease until security improves.

Gasoline: Production of gasoline is slightly above half of total daily demand, but with uneven distribution. A black market is flourishing, especially in Baghdad and the central and south areas. The security situation is also affecting distribution. Nevertheless, the combination of expected greater crude production in July (especially from the south) and imports are likely to stabilize the situation in the medium term and to eventually eliminate the black market.  Daily demand is thought to be in the region of 15 million litres. Surprisingly, "super" gasoline is now more available in Baghdad than regular gasoline as much of the imports are of "super".

Supplies of a key additive in Iraqi gasoline production, Tetra Ethylene Lead (TEL) have arrived in the region and should be in Iraq later this month. Nevertheless, with existing TEL stocks critically low, further near-term shortfalls in production are expected.

Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG): Supply of this primary cooking fuel remains poor. Only about 20% of demand is being met from domestic production. Major plants are all working at a very low capacity. They require a greater level of technical sophistication and investment than refineries of liquid hydrocarbons to return to pre-conflict production levels. Continued LPG imports may be necessary at least throughout the summer although the importation of an entire ship's cargo through the country's main LPG plant and export port at Khor al-Zubayr should ease the situation. Much Coalition attention is being devoted to bringing the Khor Zubair plant on line but it is unrealistic to expect substantial Khor Al-Zubayr production until late summer or even autumn.

For Fuel availability in Iraq please see the website.

9. OTHER

UNHAS/UNJLC contact information.

1. Passenger Bookings: John Muhho

o        Email:  jose.caquarta@wfp.org
o        Office phone: TBN.
o        Mobile: TBN.
o        Fax: + 962 656 92316

2. Regional Air Coordinator: Paul Steiner

o        Email: paul.steiner@wfp.org
o        Office phone: TBN.
o        Mobile: + 962 (0)79 6969 381.
o        Fax: + 962 656 92316.

3. Regional and Strategic Cargo: Kjersti Bang

o        Email: einar.schjolberg@wfp.org;  autoforwarded to: kjersti.bang@wfp.org
o        Office phone: TBN.
o        Mobile: + 962 (0) 79 6969 392
o        Fax: + 962 656 92316

4.        UNJLC Kuwait Office and Liaison Officer RAMCC: Keith Chapman.

o        Email: keith.chapman@wfp.org
o        Office phone: TBN
o        Fax: TBN
o        Mobile: + 965 937 6427