Seven months after pulling the plug on a controversial process to find a company to run the concessions operations at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, the state is trying again.
Late Monday, the Maryland Department of Transportation issued a document known as a Request for Proposal, seeking bidders that want to oversee concessions at the state-owned airport for the next two decades.
“One of the Administration’s core ambitions with this solicitation is to connect with entrepreneurs, retailers, restauranteurs, concessionaires, and commercial developers who have the passion and vision to develop an airport concessions program of the future,” the state says in the document.
The previous bidding process for the lucrative deal, valued at millions of dollars, was halted soon after Gov. Wes Moore (D) took office, following complaints by some of the companies interested in the contract that the bidding had been tainted. Midway through the procurement process, which began in the summer of 2022, some of the requirements for winning the contract were changed in a way that appeared to favor one company, New Market Development.
In fact, the Maryland Aviation Administration last fall wound up recommending that the contract go to New Market Development, a company owned and operated by Major F. Riddick Jr., a veteran political player in Maryland who had once been chief of staff to former Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D). Following articles in Maryland Matters reporting on the concerns of some of the unsuccessful bidders, who complained about the integrity of the process, the Maryland Department of Transportation, parent agency of the Maryland Aviation Administration, announced it was pausing the procurement. At the same time, the current holder of the concessions contract filed a lawsuit seeking to block the aviation administration from taking its recommendation to the Board of Public Works, which awards high-dollar contracts for state government.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Josh Kurtz over at Maryland Matters
