Al Furat

Al Furat, located 27-30 km SW of Baghdad [according to UNSCOM], was intended for the design, assembly, and testing of gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment. Iraq construction of an industrial-scale plant to manufacture centrifuges was conducted under the code-name Al Furat Project. The nomenclature "Al Furat" is evidently the name of the entity or facility rather than the location, since "Al Furat" is the Arabic term for the Euphrates River, entirely appropriate for the task at hand. The exact location of this facility remains obscure, but the location reported by UNSCOM appears to correlate with an area enclosed by a security perimeter noted on the Tactical Pilotage Chart for Baghdad, located on the west bank of the Euphrates River.

The plant, designed to build all the components for centrifuges, was slated for completion by mid-1991. By various estimates, it could have been capable of manufacturing at least 2,000 and perhaps as many as 5,000 centrifuges annually. Plans called for a 100-machine prototype centrifuge cascade at Al Furat by the end of 1992, with operations beginning by mid-1993. By late 1991, IAEA inspectors had concluded that the German firm Interatom GmbH and Strabag AG, a German construction firm, had worked at the building at al-Furat planned as the 100-centrifuge cascade hall.

Iraq was planning to build a 1,000-machine production cascade at Taji. Based on performance achieved by the Iraqis with their prototype centrifuge, IAEA estimated the potential output of a 1,000 centrifuge cascade at about ten kilograms of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium annually.

All centrifuge related components were destroyed under IAEA supervision.

Newly Declassified Intelligence Photos - Released 10/08/2002

Click on the small image to view a larger version

Al Furat Manufacturing Facility, Iraq Construction of the building depicted on this graphic was suspended in 1991. Construction resumed in 2001, and the building appears to be operational, although the tall section at the rear of the building has not been completed. The building was originally intended to house a centrifuge enrichment cascade operation supporting Iraq