DETROIT (AP) _ Call it business, or call it a touch of nostalgia. Either way, local Arab American businessmen hope to secure a small portion of the billions in contracts up for grabs in the ongoing bid to rebuild Iraq.

Nafta Khalaf, who was raised in Baghdad, has his eye on a contract to help restore Iraq’s wastewater treatment systems. He feels his expertise and ethnic background may give him an edge in a competitive market for the Iraqi reconstruction projects.

”It will definitely be a plus,’ Khalaf told The Detroit News for a story Monday.

”It would also be great because it is the country I was born in and my childhood will never be forgotten,’ said the Troy resident and owner of Detroit Contracting Inc. ”But you also have to show the financial soundness of your company and the ability to perform the work (to be considered).’

Khalaf is just one of dozens of Arab American businessmen vying for a part of the $2.5 billion Congress has allocated for Iraqi humanitarian aid and reconstruction. Many predict that the tab for the rebuilding will run between $9 billion and $60 billion over the next few years.

Some key contracts already have been snapped up by international giants such as Bechtel Corp. The company recently won a $34.6 million contract that could, ultimately, be worth up to $600 million, company officials say.

Even so, they can only complete 10 percent of the work themselves and will subcontract the rest.

Contractors already who have already done work for the government will have a leg up on the rest, says Robert Kyle, a partner with the Washington law firm Hogan & Hartson. The firm is helping subcontractors find their way around the district’s bureaucratic maze.

But other, less well-known companies also have a shot if they’ve worked in Iraq before, offer competitive pricing or pledge to hire Iraqis.

”Merit will count more than some people assume,’ Kyle said. ”This process is under a very intense public microscope. Politics will play a role, but it will be more subtle than people may assume.’

Ned Fawaz, the president of Energy International Corp., a Canton Township-based engineering firm, is another who is trying to secure an Iraq contract. But, like many, he’s finding the process logistically daunting.

”Right now, the contracts are not really defined,’ Fawaz said. ”We need to establish the right channels and bid on the right contracts.’

To help companies like Fawaz’s, the Arab American Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn is planning to hold a workshop next month aimed at assisting interested firms in preparing their contract proposals. The Chamber’s head, Nasser Beydoun says 50 of his members have expressed an interest in working in Iraq.

In part, the obstacles these companies are facing stem from the ambiguity in Iraq.

”Right now, the problem is there is nothing to rebuild because there is no government in place,’ said Beydoun, noting that the bidding process could be months away.

The businessmen, however, are undaunted and are convinced that their knowledge of the region will translate into a more successful reconstruction effort,

”It is a plus not only in the awarding process, but also in the inclusion process,’ said Fawaz, referring to his ethnic background. ”You need to be able to deal with the local people and have the ability to blend in and be accepted bythe citizens.’

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