LLNL contract

The US Department of Energy awarded the $45.5 millionper-year management contract for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California to a team led by Bechtel National and the University of California. The winning team, which also includes BWX Technologies and the Washington Group International, is almost identical to the consortium that was awarded the 2005 management contract for Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. National Nuclear Security Administration official C. S. Przybylek, who made the final decision on the bids for the contract, said there are some differences between the two groups—the University of California is the lead partner at LANL, while Bechtel will be the lead partner at LLNL. The losing bid was from a team led by Northrop Grumman Corp.

The University of California has managed both labs since they were created, but a series of security problems at LANL, and to a lesser extent at LLNL, led Congress in 2003 to require that the contracts be put out for bid. Bechtel, a global engineering, construction, and project management company, is expected to tighten up management practices at both labs.

The new LLNL contract also includes as partners Battelle Memorial Institute, four small business subcontractors, and Texas A&M University in College Station. The contract begins 1 October 2007 and runs for seven years. It can then be extended annually for up to 13 years after the initial 7-year period. George Miller will stay on as director.