Deadlines loom for ITIP contract

The clock is ticking for the companies chasing the Transportation Security Administration’s $2 billion Information Technology Infrastructure Program contract.

On Dec. 12, TSA released the request for proposals for the contract, which is expected to be worth $2 billion. Proposals are due at the end of January, TSA officials said. Awards are expected by late April.

The leading contenders for the contract include Computer Sciences Corp., General Dynamics Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and incumbent Unisys Corp.

The contract has gone through a down-select process once before, which resulted in protests being filed by Northrop Grumman Corp. and Unisys. TSA decided to let those companies back into the competition along with EDS Corp.

No new protests have been filed at this stage, a TSA spokesman said.

The contract is particularly important to Unisys, which won the original IT Managed Services contract in 2002 to build and maintain TSA’s networks and infrastructure. The contract brings in about $200 million a year for Unisys.

A Unisys spokesman confirmed that the company is bidding on the contract as a prime.