Gov. Wes Moore (D) said Tuesday he is scrapping a controversial contract process to run concessions operations at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and has directed the Maryland Aviation Administration to solicit new bids for the lucrative deal. The forthcoming procurement solicitation cancels the solicitation and contract award recommendation that the agency made under the administration of former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) — which had resulted in a lawsuit against the state.
In a statement, Moore said he was looking to ensure a fairer, more competitive bidding process to operate the concessions — food, drink, retail and other hospitality services — at the busy state-owned airport.
“BWI Marshall is an economic driver for our state and our region,” the governor said. “The retail and concessions program is a key element to the growth and success of the airport, and my administration is committed to carefully crafting a new solicitation and a procurement process that encourages robust competition, fairness, and provisions that align with our administration’s values and short-term and long-term economic strategies.”
The aviation administration (MAA), a unit of the Maryland Department of Transportation that runs BWI Marshall, put out a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) last summer, seeking bids for a new concessions operator at the airport for the next two decades. The current contractor, Fraport, and its corporate predecessors, have run concessions at BWI for 18 years.
But the process quickly ran into criticism, after the MAA twice changed the RFP in ways that appeared to favor one company — New Market Development Joint Venture LLC, a politically-connected firm that was launched just months before the bidding began. One change, dealing with the level of experience needed to run concessions at BWI, clearly benefited New Market Development, because the company would not have qualified for the contract without it.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Josh Kurtz over at Maryland Matters
