The Italian foreign ministry said Wednesday that Italy's Cesena-based Trevi construction group has just signed a contract with Iraqi authorities for consolidation work on the Mosul Dam, following "intense" negotiations with Baghdad.
The contract is worth some 273 million euros, ANSA learned from informed sources in Baghdad. The repair and strengthening work will last 18 months, they said.
The project was agreed on a recent visit to Rome by Iraqi Premier Haider al-Abadi and was the subject of talks in New York between Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and US and Iraqi representatives to speed the terms of the contract, the ministry said. The arrival of some 500 Italian soldiers to protect Trevi's restructuring work on the dam, whose urgent need for repair has been highlighted by the US, has been scheduled for late spring, either May or June, officials said Monday. The contingent could be composed of the Garibaldi Brigade bersaglieri with armoured vehicles, plus special forces, sappers and air support. Reconnaissance and analysis of the area to be secured have already been carried out. Defence ministry plans to deploy the troops are at an advanced stage.
The Iraqi government and the US Embassy in Baghdad warned local residents on Monday that the Mosul Dam may collapse, a risk the US called "serious and unprecedented".
The US said a collapse could cause the deaths of nearly 1.5 million Iraqis living along the Tigris River.
"Prompt evacuation offers the most effective tool to save lives of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis," the U.S. embassy said.
The US has warned in the past of the potential for collapse.
Built in the 1980s, the dam is situated on soft mineral foundations, easily dissolved by water.
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