Executives with a couple companies hoping to win at least a share of the mega-dollar Tank Closure Contract at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington suggested this week the award will be delayed a few months.
That was a shared message during quarterly earning calls Monday and Tuesday from senior executives at AECOM and Jacobs Engineering regarding the potential 10-year contract that could be worth between $10 billion and $15 billion.
At the same time, the same executives expect DOE’s award of the Central Plateau Cleanup Contract could be imminent. That potential decade-long agreement could be worth between $7 billion and $12 billion.
In its last procurement schedule posted in May, DOE said both Hanford contracts might be issued by the end of this month.
AECOM Chief Operating Officer Randall Wotring predicted during his company’s Tuesday conference call the Central Plateau award could arrive in the next three to four weeks. The tank contract “will probably be delayed,” he added without saying why.
Jacobs Chairman and CEO Steve Demetriou said Monday he expects the Central Plateau award to be issued first. The tank contract will be out “closer to the end of the year,” he added.
Without specifying which one, BWXT President and CEO Rex Geveden said one of those two Hanford deals might slip into next year. “We are competing on both of those,” he said.
Jacobs subsidiary CH2M presently handles Central Plateau work, including continued demolition of the Plutonium Finishing Plant. The current value of the remediation business is $5.8 billion.
AECOM-led Washington River Protection Solutions holds the current contract to manage 177 underground tanks at Hanford containing roughly 56 million gallons of radioactive waste. That work is valued at $6.8 billion.
Both incumbents’ initial 10-year contracts have expired. They remain on the job through 12-month contract extensions that expire at the end of next month.
