JumpStart International met on Wednesday with the advisor to the Minister of Planning to discuss the clearing of the Ministry's headquarters building in Baghdad.

The 15-story building adjacent to the CPA/Palace entrance has some structural damage due to bombing and burning, but the Ministry has expressed an interest in having the site cleared and cleaned for re-use. This will be an ideal project for JumpStart as we plan to grow our Iraqi workforce from about 350 this week to as many as 1,000 one month from today.

There are a total of three buildings at that location, including the large 15-story building and two smaller 3- or 4-story buildings. Access to the structures may be difficult for the daily workers, as the site is located adjacent to the CPA Palace, a tightly controlled area.

Clearing and cleaning work began today under the supervision of Engineer Mohammed at the headquarters of the Ministry of Planning.

A crew of twenty workers started on the 11th floor of the main building and will begin working their way down through the structure.

The Ministry of Planning complex consists of five buildings with an area of approximately 800,000 square feet, not including the parking structures and other grounds, which will be cleared as well. At least three of the buildings will be cleared and cleaned, while two buildings (both five stories) will be demolished.

The project is expected to employ roughly 100 workers for two months.

Damage to the building was done through looting and burning. Some gunfire and large caliber ammunition damage to the building side and roof, as well.

Two attached buildings form the Ministry of Planning Headquarters complex. The forward building is 6 stories, the back building is 11 stories. Both have an area of about 30,000 square meters (300,000 square feet). Other buildings in this complex also need work and demolition; over 50,000 square meters (500,000 square feet) needs to be cleaned and cleared in total.

After seven days of delay due to the terrorist attack and subsequent construction of security walls, etc., work began again today at the Ministry of Planning complex, with about 60 workers. Workforce will grow to about 80 in the next few months, as one large and two smaller buildings need to be demolished and three partially demolished buildings need to be cleared.

After the attacks, workers were shifted to nearby projects at the NCEC and Ministry of Information. Willing workers have been switched back, while just a few workers injured by the explosion continue to recover in their homes and in the hospital.