The state is moving closer to awarding a lucrative 20-year contract to run the concessions operations at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport — a year and a half after Gov. Wes Moore (D) pulled the plug on the initial procurement process, which was laden with controversy.
Maryland Matters has learned that an evaluation committee at the Maryland Department of Transportation has recommended granting the contract to URW/Harbor Bankshare, a partnership between the international development company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE and Harbor Bank of Maryland. URW is best known for building and operating shopping centers, including four in Maryland. The Board of Public Works is expected to vote on the recommendation by year’s end.
High-priced government procurements are frequently shrouded in secrecy, and agencies that run them and the companies that bid on the contracts are usually prevented from speaking publicly.
Asked this week to confirm that the agency evaluation committee favored URW/Harbor Bankshare to run all concessions at BWI, and a series of related questions, David Broughton, an MDOT spokesperson, would say only, “This is still an active procurement, and the Maryland Department of Transportation expects to take the item to the Board of Public Works for approval by the end of the year.”
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Josh Kurtz over at Maryland Matters
