TSA reopens ITIP competition

The Transportation Security Administration has changed course on its $2 billion Information Technology Infrastructure Program contract and will allow EDS Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Unisys Corp. to compete for the lucrative contract, an agency spokesman said.

Northrop and Unisys filed protests with the Government Accountability Office and the Federal Aviation Administration claiming that they should not have been eliminated by TSA during a down select process.

Unisys is the incumbent on the contract, which it originally won in 2002, shortly after TSA was formed.

In late June, TSA said that Computer Sciences Corp., General Dynamics Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. were qualified to compete for the contract.

With its latest decision, EDS, Northrop and Unisys rejoin the competition. An award by TSA is expected by the end of the year, an agency spokesman said.

The value of the new contract, which is being awarded through the Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge (EAGLE) procurement vehicle, has not been disclosed but industry estimates suggest a value of $225 million annually, or about $2 billion overall.

The IT infrastructure work continues under the IT Managed Services contract that Unisys won to build TSA's networks and infrastructure. Unisys held the original contract and then won a bridge contract to extend the work through 2008.