Approximately $100 million is being invested in a partnership between Oregon State University and the Iraqi government to bring hundreds of engineers to Corvallis and possibly send Oregon contractors to work on major jobs in the Middle East.

The partnership, which has been in the works for three years, includes a fast-track plan to build as many as 11 green building research labs throughout Iraq, according to Scott Ashford, interim dean of OSU’s College of Engineering. The “Oregon Invest in Iraq” part of the program will focus on designing and constructing materials testing labs to green standards.

“We already know that several key engineering, architecture and construction companies will want to be a part of the team that does the work in Iraq,” said Catherine Mater, director of sustainability programs for OSU’s College of Engineering.

Mater spoke to the DJC from Arbil, Iraq, after traveling throughout the country and meeting with the ministers of higher education and scientific research for both the bulk of Iraq and the northern Kurdistan region.

The Iraqi government committed to pay for approximately $44 million of the five-year partnership, OSU is planning to contribute $37.5 million, and the Michael Scott Mater Foundation, started by Catherine Mater’s son in honor of his late father, will provide approximately $19 million, according to Ashford.

OSU has consulted with some firms in the Pacific Northwest to gain informal feedback about the planned lab construction, according to Ashford.

“The contractors that end up doing the work will potentially be building 11 laboratories, and we’ve learned that to be successful in working with the Iraqis and universities, what they really want is real partnerships with the construction firms on the ground in Iraq,” he said. “They want a close relationship with the firm working on the construction of these facilities.”

Lake Oswego-based Otak Inc., a civil engineering and sustainable design firm, is a likely partner – the firm is reopening an Iraqi office, according to CEO Nawzad Othman.

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