At least 180 companies have already declared their interest in working with President Trump to build his proposed wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, just three days after the government announced the contract bidding process was open.
More companies will likely signal interest in competing for President Donald Trump’s massive border wall project, but 180 construction and engineering firms from across the U.S. registered to submit a bid for the contract as of Monday evening, according to analysis by CityLab, part of the Atlantic media family.
Some of the companies interested in competing for a design-phase contract include defense and engineering giant Raytheon, global construction company Caddell, and architecture firm Leo A Daly. Many of the companies may qualify as minority-owned, veteran-owned, or small disadvantaged businesses. Fifteen of the companies identified themselves as owned by Hispanic Americans.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a notice “for the design and build of several prototype wall structures” on the government’s contracting website FedBizOpps Friday, starting the process of building Trump’s vaunted and often criticized border wall project. The notice is light on details, and is intended to give businesses time to prepare for more technical requests and proposals later.
“The primary purpose of this effort is to develop design standards for a border wall that may be constructed along the southwest border with Mexico in support of [U.S. border protection] operational requirements,” Carlos Diaz, spokesman for the CBP, told The Daily Caller News Foundation Tuesday.
The designs for the wall will be evaluated based on “operational requirements, cost effectiveness, constructibility, and durability,” Carlos said, adding that “any and all prototypes will be designed to deter illegal entry into the United States.”
A more complete summary of the first phase of the design will be posted March 6, and companies will have just four days to submit their concept for the prototype in paper format. CBP will select some of the best designs, then issue another request for proposals to find one or more companies to complete the prototype.
The total cost and timeline of the project are unclear, but it will likely be a lucrative endeavor for the companies selected. Trump said the cost could be around $12 billion, and House Speaker Paul Ryan floated the number $15 billion. A Department of Homeland Security report obtained by Reuters earlier this month put the cost at $21 billion for the entire project.
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