BAGHDAD, Aug 3 (AFP) - The United States has spent just 544 million dollars (450 million euros) on Iraqi reconstruction since an 18.4-billion-dollar package was approved last year, according to the office managing the US funds.
Although the Project and Contracting Office (PCO) has awarded 6.38 billion dollars of contracts, only half a billion has been spent so far, according to a PCO document obtained by AFP late Monday.
The text, a briefing document for US Secretary of State Colin Powell who made a surprise visit to Baghdad on Friday, said most of the money had been spent on law enforcement and security and admitted that the daily violence rocking Iraq had delayed the flow of funds.
"We have experienced some delays as we seek to keep our employees safe," it said.
Powell promised Iraq's interim leaders during his visit that reconstruction spending would be speeded up, saying it was essential to restoring stability.
Admiral David Nash, director of the PCO, had insisted last week that the rebuilding of war-ravaged Iraq had been unaffected by the spate of kidnappings of foreigners and other security threats.
Iraqi officials have long complained that very little has been spent of the total 33 billion dollars, including the US portion of 18.4 billion dollars, pledged at a Madrid donors conference last October.
Although one billion dollars of non-US money was pledged for 2004, so far just 230 million dollars worth of projects have been approved.