On March 28, the US Government Accountability Office accepted a protest from contractor Pernix Group Inc. over the US State Department’s decision that it was ineligible to bid on a design-build contract for a new $247 million consulate complex in Adana, Turkey.
GAO upheld its Pernix Federal unit’s protest of that decision, calling the department’s revocation of eligibility “unreasonable.”
It ruled that the company’s link with BE&K Building Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the parent acquired in 2015, “can reasonably be regarded as a In fact joint venture and eligible to bid for the contract” under the prequalification requirements of the Federal Security Act.
Lombard, Ill.-based Pernix submitted a technical and cost proposal for the project last September, after the department’s Office of Overseas Building Operations, which manages the design, construction and ‘operation of all diplomatic properties of the United States, would have deemed him eligible under the first two of the application. phases The Pernix Federal company unit was awarded the contract.
A month later, GAO said contractor BL Harbert International, which it described as “a disappointed bidder,” protested the award, claiming Pernix should not have been prequalified to submit a proposal.
That protest was dismissed after the department said it was taking corrective action to confirm Pernix’s eligibility.
On December 8, 2023, State notified Pernix Group that its federal unit as an autonomous entity was not the bidder that was prequalified and said that it was not eligible to submit a technical and price proposal.
The department said a In fact The joint venture of Pernix Federal and BE&K was not eligible for an award because it was not registered to submit a proposal for an overseas construction project. Design firm HOK was also part of the tender team.
The consulate serves 22 districts in southeastern Turkey, including those bordering Iran, Iraq, and Syria.
“A In fact joint venture where a formal agreement has not been reached, but the offering entity relies on the experience of a US-related company that guarantees performance” may participate and submit a proposal in response to the RFP, GAO said.
The state should not have said Pernix was no longer eligible to compete because its Phase 2 submission and Phase 3 proposal were from Pernix Federal, and not the Pernix Group, GAO said, which decide that Pernix Federal should be considered as an autonomous entity and re-establish it. in the competition.
Work was due to start on November 30 and end on February 1, 2028. The Adana complex project includes the design and construction of an office building, a support annex, pavilions of ‘access, mail control facilities, service building and residential space for the consul general. , personnel and security, as well as exterior construction. The total construction program is about 14,432 square meters, according to the State’s tender documents.
GAO said State has confirmed to Pernix that it is an eligible bidder for the consulate award, which will now be re-competitive. The department could not be reached to confirm a new timetable for completing procurement, starting construction and finishing the project.
GAO also advised the department to “amend the RFP to remove or revise the impossible requirement that a In fact that the joint venture be registered” with the System for Award Management, a federal registry for all vendors doing business with the government, to clarify registration requirements. Pernix may also claim bid protest costs.
