Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded a $210.2 million firm-fixed-price construction contract, September 12, to B.L. Harbert International, LLC, of Birmingham, Alabama. The project will encompass the construction of a weapons generation facility aboard Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB), Bossier Parish, Louisiana.

This project is quite exceptional as it involves the Navy contracting command awarding a project that will take place outside the usual Navy or Marine Corps facilities. Nevertheless, the primary mission remains to deliver essential services and maintenance required to ensure optimal readiness.

“This contract award supports the lethality and readiness of the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) B-52 bombers assigned to Barksdale AFB,” said Lt. Cmdr. James Keokosal, resident officer in charge of construction (ROICC) at Barksdale AFB. “The completed complex will be critical to the Air Force Global Strike Command’s mission of providing lethal precision strikes anywhere, at any time.”

The contract includes the design-bid-build construction of five new facilities and the renovation of an existing one-story facility. The scope of work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to: construction of the main facility, a weapons generation facility; an entry control facility; a security forces facility; a fire pump building; a diesel generator building; a weather shelter; and multiple towers to supporting various security features.

For nearly a decade, ROICC Barksdale and NAVFAC Southeast have been in collaboration with the USAF in the planning and design of this project. The completed complex will be the largest project to be executed at Barksdale AFB since its establishment following World War II.

The contract also contains 11 unexercised options, which, if exercised, would increase the cumulative contract value to $221.2 million.

The contractor was chosen using the Best Value Tradeoff Source Selection procurement. Award for this procurement was based on technical factors and price, which together constitute a best value to the government, however, not necessarily the lowest price.

This contract was competitively procured by means of the Contract Opportunities SAM.gov website with two proposals received.

Work will be performed at Barksdale AFB and is expected to be completed by January 2026.