Bradford firms could be perfectly placed to take advantage of opportunities arising from the rebuilding of Iraq, it was claimed today.

The Bradford Chamber of Commerce has set up a register of businesses interested in taking on work in the shattered country.

It has teamed up with the Arab British Chamber of Commerce to explore the kind of work which will be involved in the US-led reconstruction programme.

And it is thought Bradford's Asian business community could be particularly well-placed to use local knowledge and contacts.

Today Tim Bailey, international manager of Chamber Management Services, urged firms to register their interest as soon as possible.

The Arab British Chamber has already held a conference to explore the issue in which businesses indicated they would like to deal directly with Iraqi firms rather than en-bloc.

Once stability has been restored, plans will be drawn up for a trade mission to the country.

"There has been quite a bit of interest so far," said Mr Bailey. "We are working quite closely with the Arab Chamber to look at how we can raise awareness of the kind of opportunities that are likely to occur.

"There is clearly a need to rebuild the country's infrastructure and that should open up opportunities for a whole range of industry right across the board. But, obviously, at the moment we are at a very early stage."

He said that industry in the region had been very successful in gaining contracts during the rebuilding of Kuwait following the war in that country in 1991.

"Kuwait was slightly different because we knew what kind of business and industry was going on there before the war, whereas Iraq is a bit like starting afresh because the sanctions have been in place for so long.

"It is difficult to say exactly where the interest is going to come from but there is certainly an awful lot of work to do.

"It is possible that Asian businesses could be in a strong position and there are one or two niche businesses that could be looking to get involved. We would be happy to help them and encourage them to register soon so that we can assist in whatever way we can."

Fathi Sharaf, assistant to the secretary general of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, said opportunities were likely to develop in a range of sectors such as construction, education and medicine.

For more information on the project, contact Chamber Management Services' international trade executive Claire Dodsworth on (01274) 230093.