The US construction firm, Bechtel, has won the first big contract to be awarded by the US government for the rebuilding of Iraq.
The deal, which could lead to orders totalling $700 million, will see the company repair power, water and sewerage systems.
Only American firms were invited to bid for the contract.
Foreign companies have complained that they cannot be prime contractors under the US-Aid Iraq programme, although the agency has repeatedly said non-US firms can be sub-contractors.
