KABUL - On Afghanistan’s reconstruction front, contracts for several projects worth millions of dollars have been awarded to a Lebanese firm in an opaque and obscure manner.
Pajhwok Afghan News conducted detailed investigations to ascertain how the Khatib and Alami Consulting Engineers SAL Offshore-- a company headquartered in Beirut -- managed to win more than $16 million contracts for seven projects in the past two years.
How did the firm make it to Kabul?
The Beirut-based company, registered with Afghan government institutions under different names, was founded by Mounir El-Khatib in 1957. Then it was called Consolidated Engineering Company.
Five-year later, it was merged with Zahir Alami and renamed as Khatib & Alami. But accurate information about the firm’s arrival and operations in Afghanistan is not available.
Evidence gathered by Pajhwok shows Khatib and Alami Consulting Engineers
SAL Offshore submitted documents for doing projects in Afghanistan to the Afghanistan Embassy in Uman, the capital of Jordan the immediate neighbour of Lebanon, last year.
Based on a letter from the Afghanistan Embassy in Jordon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul introduced the company to the Ministry Commerce and Industries on February 20, 20017 for operations in the country.
“The embassy attested the documents of Khatib and Alami Consulting Engineers Sal Offshore- Consulting Engineers - Offshore SAL before the Mini
stry of Foreign Affairs endorsed the papers vide letter number 2762 on February 25, 2017.”
According to the letter, the company was introduced by Ramazan Arab through an authorised representative having the required documents. Arab requested the opening of a branch of the firm in Afghanistan. (Pajhwok)