Iraq has awarded Italian firm Trevi a contract to repair and maintain the country’s largest dam, which is in danger of catastrophic collapse.
The Mosul dam was built on an unstable foundation of soils that erode when exposed to water, and a lapse in maintenance after Islamic State (Isis) seized it in 2014 weakened the already flawed structure.
The dam has long been in danger of collapse, which US officials have warned could send a huge wave crashing into Isis-held Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, about 25 miles (40km) away.
The Iraqi cabinet, with the agreement of the ministry of water resources, awarded Trevi the contract “to carry out the project of rehabilitating and maintaining the Mosul dam”, a government statement said on Tuesday. The deal has yet to be signed, according to the statement, which did not specify how much Trevi would be paid for the work.
The Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, announced in December the country would deploy 450 troops to defend the dam, a decision linked to Trevi’s interest in the project.
Italian forces are already in Iraq training police as part of international efforts to counter Isis. Italy also deployed forces to Iraq as part of the US-led coalition that overthrew Saddam Hussein, and a truck bomb killed 19 Italians south of Baghdad in 2003.
Lt Gen Sean MacFarland, the commander of the military operation against Isis, said last week that the US had put measuring devices on the dam to monitor how much it is moving or deteriorating over time.
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