KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan Engineering District-South exceeded its contracting and construction goals for February, the sixth consecutive month of execution success.
“Contracting continues to set the bar of excellence,” said Bonnie Perry, the district’s contracting chief. “For February, we made 17 awards totaling $100,047,952.”
Of those contract awards, the South District awarded 59 percent to Afghan companies.
“For February, the district exceeded our construction placement projection of $60.4 million,” said Bill Stout, deputy chief, engineering and construction division. “We placed about $69.15 million worth of construction, meaning our contractors completed that volume of work, submitted invoices and we paid them.”
The South District placed 114 percent of its overall construction goal which was quite an achievement, Stout said.
With access to building supplies limited by the closure of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, maintaining construction momentum is a challenge.
“Our contractors have building materials stuck in Pakistan, so figuring out ways to continue building and finding alternative shipping methods has been a difficult experience for everyone on the project delivery teams. In several instances we figured out alternatives but continue to look for solutions,” Stout continued.
The South District is poised to continue meeting its scheduled goals. March looks to be an even busier month about $180 million in contract awards expected, Perry said.