Operation CATALYST: Image Gallery
21 October 2005
Civil Military Co-operation (CIMIC) renovate bus depot in southern Iraq
Australian soldiers and Iraqi contractors have completed refurbishment of an important public transport hub in southern Iraq, the Ar Rumaythah transport station.
Ar Rumaythah is a city of about 35,000 with a further 35,000 people living in the surrounding countryside. The city is located about 30 minutes drive north of As Samawah in Al Muthanna Province.
Australians of the Al Muthanna Task Group work daily in Ar Rumaythah, training the local Iraqi Army Company. The Director General Transport, Al Muthanna Province, Farhan Abdul Hussain, identified an urgent community need for works to refurbish the station.
Negotiation with the Australia Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) team resulted in a project to refurbish the hard stand, curbing and channelling, drainage, sanitation and toilet facilities, to erect shelters and seats, and to refurbish small shops in the associated market centre.
The Ar Rumaythah transport station is one of a series of community assistance projects in southern Iraq being completed under management of Australian soldiers with more than $2 million Australian Government funding, which was announced by the Australian Minister for Defence Robert Hill on 14 July 2005.
The Civil Military Co-operation (CIMIC) project team in the Al Muthanna Task Group (AMTG) of the Australian Defence Force is working with Iraqi officials, community leaders and local contractors to complete 12 projects, including veterinary facilities, a grain silo laboratory, an animal waste disposal unit, an ambulance station, a mobile health clinic, renovation of a community centre, water testing kits, refurbishment of a bus depot, and power lines connecting communities to the electricity grid.
Read releases:
$2.3 million in community projects for southern Iraq
Significant progress on community projects in southern Iraq
| 20051008adf8182062_009 Lieutenant Colonel Roger Noble thanks the Provincial Director General of Transport, Farhan Abdul Hussain, for his remarks at the opening of the Australian funded Ar Rumaythah transport station in southern Iraq. (Date taken: 08 October 2005) Low-res | High-res |
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| 20051008adf8182062_010 Accompanied by the Provincial Director General of Transport, Farhan Abdul Hussain (centre, in suit), Lieutenant Colonel Roger Noble cuts the ribbon to officially open the Ar Rumaythah bus depot. (Date taken: 08 October 2005) Low-res | High-res |
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| 20051008adf8182062_016 Australian soldiers and community members climb onto an Australian vehicle at the Ar Rumaythah transport station, refurbished using Australian funds. (Date taken: 08 October 2005) Low-res | High-res |
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