NIMA Delays $2 Billion Outsourcing Contract

A controversial $2 billion outsourcing contract being let by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency has been postponed in the aftermath of the terrrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.NIMA provides mapping and satellite imagery to the Defense Department and branches of the military. The contract was to have gone to NJVC Corp., a joint venture owned by Chenega Corp. and Arctic Slope Regional Development Corp., two Alaskan Native corporations. The pact sparked controversy because it was being awarded to NJVC without going through a competitive process.In a single paragraph announcement on the NIMA Web site, the agency said: "Due to the current crisis situation, NIMA has decided to postpone the NJVC Information Technology/Information Services (IT/IS) contract award until December. NIMA will continue ongoing support and transition activities with NJVC."The contract would move 600 government jobs to the private sector. NJVC will take over call centers, centralized systems and servers, distributed desktop computing, enterprise telecommunications, mainframe computers and networking services.The outsourcing deal is opposed by the 200,000 member American Federal of Government Employees.