DOE Picks Fluor at Savannah River

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the $4-billion-plus management contract of its Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., to a Fluor Corp.-led team instead of the 19-year incumbent, Washington Group International. But WGI remains in charge of the former nuclear-weapons site’s other large contract to run its liquid-waste management and reprocessing operation and is recompeting for a new six-year, $3-billion version of that award.

Irving, Texas-based Fluor says the Jan. 10 DOE award to its team, which includes defense contracting giants Northrop Grumman, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin, “is a significant accomplishment.” The team will also develop strategies to manage the site’s 6,200-person workforce and plan new research-and-development and technological enterprises. The contract has options to extend five more years.

Industry sources say the win was crucial to Fluor’s DOE market leadership, since it completed a contract in 2006 to manage cleanup of DOE’s Fernald site in Ohio. The firm has a cleanup management role at the agency’s Hanford site in Washington state and is competing with CH2M Hill Cos., Denver, for new versions of that contract.

Fluor is also a member of the team led by Parsons Corp., Pasadena, Calif., that is now vying with Boise, Idaho-based WGI for the liquid-waste management contract. DOE is reviewing the two teams’ proposals and has scheduled oral presentations for early March, says Ken Smith, senior vice president in Fluor’s government group.

WGI’s acquisition last year by URS Corp. did not affect the SRS procurement, says company spokesman Jack Herrmann. He notes that the firm has won nine of 11 major DOE contracts competed since 2001. Source: Engineering News-Record.

N.C., S.C. Have Big Declines to End ‘07

The value of new contracts signed in December for future construction fell by 28% in North Carolina and by 19% in South Carolina, according to the latest information from McGraw-Hill Construction, publisher of Southeast Construction.

In North Carolina, the value of new starts totaled $1.2 billion for the month of December. The residential sector fell by 24% for a monthly total of about $898.4 million. The value of new nonresidential contracts dropped 47%, for a total of about $224.6 million. The value of nonbuilding starts improved by 32% compared to last December to total approximately $77.8 million.

For the year, North Carolina contract activity ended up 4% behind 2006’s pace, with nearly $24.1 billion in new starts. The nonresidential category, at roughly $6.2 billion, was 3% ahead of ‘06, and the nonbuilding sector finished the year 30% ahead, with roughly $2.5 billion in new project starts. Meanwhile, residential finished the year 10% behind 2006 with a $15.4 billion total.

In South Carolina, December contracts fell by 19%, compared to the same period of a year ago, for a $653.1 million total. The nonresidential sector decreased by 9% from the previous December for a $164.9 million total. Residential fell 30% for a $395.8 million total. The value of nonbuilding starts jumped by 50%, however, to total $92.4 million.

For 2007, South Carolina ended the year 13% ahead of 2006, with new contracts totaling nearly $14.2 billion. Residential was the only negative sector, with about $6.5 billion in new starts during ’07. Nonresidential, at about $6.3 billion, ended up more than doubling last year’s total. And the nonbuilding sector, at about $1.3 billion, finished the year 16% ahead.

Peacock Luxury Hotel Under Construction in Greenville, S.C.

American Constructors of Nashville, Tenn., is under way on a $60 million Peacock luxury hotel in Greenville, S.C., according to McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge. The project owner is Craig Gaulden & Davis of Greenville.

Concorde Construction Building $15M Hilton Garden Inn

Charlotte-based Concorde Construction is in the latter stages of constructing a $15 million, 120-room Hilton Garden Inn in Ayrsley, N.C., for owners New Forum and Henson-Tomlin Interests.

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