Consolidated Nuclear Security said Tuesday it is looking for construction contractors to split a multiple award task order contract at the Pantex Plant in Texas that could be worth up to $600 million over 10 years.
The contract includes a five-year base period worth $300 million and five one-year options worth $60 million each, according to a notice posted online by Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), the Bechtel National-led prime contractor for Pantex and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The contract could cover as many as 15 buildings, and CNS wants them to be as similar as possible. The winning contractor will have to develop a “standard Pantex design” for the buildings, many of which house workers doing very different jobs, and fabricate off-site as many parts of the buildings as possible.
CNS plans to announce winners in February. The prime planned to release a final request for proposals by Oct. 23 and give interested parties until Dec. 1 or so to bid, according to the notice. Before that, a draft solicitation should appear by Sept. 21, after a site visit to Pantex planned for Sept. 21.
Companies do not need to have a security clearance to bid, but they do have to contact CNS by Sept. 12 to participate in the planned site visit, the company wrote in the notice it published Tuesday.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which owns Pantex and Y-12, planned to replace CNS at both sites. The semi-autonomous Department of Energy nuclear weapons agency planned to make the swap first at Pantex. The NNSA in July released a final request for proposals to manage Pantex for up to 20 years. Awards for contracts that large can take a year or more. Bids are due at the end of September.
Meanwhile, the agency can keep CNS on at Pantex through Sept. 30, 2024 and at Y-12 through 2025.
