DynCorp, Fluor Win Afghan Work Worth $7.5 Billion Each

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Source: Bloomberg

July 8 (Bloomberg) -- DynCorp International Inc. and Fluor Corp. have been selected over KBR Inc. for five-year contracts worth as much as $7.5 billion for each company to support the U.S. troop build-up in Afghanistan, an Army official said.

Falls Church, Virginia-based DynCorp International Inc. and Irving, Texas-based Fluor Corp. each won basic one-year contracts worth as much as $1.5 billion that include four one- year options for the same annual amount, Jim Loehrl, executive director of the Army’s Rock Island, Illinois, Contracting Center, said yesterday in a telephone interview.

The awards are the sixth and seventh -- and the largest -- since the program was revamped in April 2008 into a competition that now pits Houston, Texas-based KBR, the incumbent contractor that won the original logistics contract in 2001, against DynCorp and Fluor for individual tasks.

DynCorp rose $2.28, or 14 percent, to $18.13 at 9:47 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Earlier the shares gained as much as 17 percent, the biggest intraday increase since June 4. Fluor gained 15 cents to $46.48, and KBR fell 9 cents to $16.75.

KBR “remains committed to providing the Army quality service,” KBR spokeswoman Heather Browne in an e-mail response to a request for comment. “We remain proud of the work we have performed and we are humbled to serve our troops.”

Browne said the company looked forward to receiving a detailed briefing on the Army’s latest contract decision.

Laundry, Food Services

DynCorp will take over services KBR provided for tasks such as laundry, food services and maintenance for existing base camps in southern Afghanistan. It also will build new bases as needed to accommodate an increase to about 68,000 troops from about 57,000 today. Fluor will take over similar services in northern Afghanistan.

more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aMvHvWx8Ra0c