Four snare USAID work

The U.S. Agency for International Development awarded blanket purchasing agreements worth up to $300 million for software work over the next five years to four contractors.

Two large businesses: BearingPoint Inc. and SRA International Inc., won contracts as did two small businesses: AINS Inc. of Rockville, Md., and Development Info-Structure Corp. of Arlington, Va.

The companies will compete for task orders under the Principal Resource for Information Management Enterprisewide 3.4 or Prime 3.4.

The BPA follows Prime 3.1 and Prime 3.2. Prime 3.1, worth $90 million for business systems modernization and strategic management consulting services, was awarded in July 2005. Prime 3.2, for infrastructure services and potentially worth $4 billion over five years, was awarded in May. An additional procurement for IT security, Prime 3.3, is on hold, sources said.

USAID launched the Prime 3.4 procurement because it had run up against the spending ceiling in Prime 2.2, sources said.

Prime 3.4 covers a broad range of IT services, including system maintenance, modernization and Internet development support.

Prime may be extended

USAID said it might extend the Prime 3.4 contracts beyond the initial five-year period to meet its needs for IT support.

"The PRIME 3.4 vehicle will be the main mechanism for modernizing USAID as it integrates more closely with the State Department," said Martin Hudson, Development InfoStructure vice president.

Wilson P. Dizard III is a senior writer with Government Computer News. He can be reached at wdizard@postnewsweektech.com.