JANA CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTING/ LTD COMPANY (W5J9JE24R0004)

B-423061,B-423062,B-423063 Dec 09, 2024 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Jana Construction Contracting LTD Company, of Erbil, Iraq, protests the rejection of its proposals submitted pursuant to request for proposals (RFP) Nos. W5J9JE24R0004, W5J9JE24R0011, and W5J9JE24R0013, issued by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (Corps) for design-build services at the Erbil Air Base located in Erbil, Iraq. The protester contends that the agency unreasonably found the firm non-responsible. We deny the protests. View Decision Decision Matter of: Jana Construction Contracting LTD Company File: B-423061; B-423062; B-423063 Date: December 9, 2024 Bahman K. Abdullah, for the protester. Kiwie Tahir, for Blue Way, Transportation of All Types of Cargoes, Customs Clearance Services and Logistics Services LTD Company; and Omar Sulaiman, for Zana Group Company for General Contracts, the intervenors. Parag J. Rawal, Esq., Megan O. Jorns, Esq., Susan Symanski, Esq., and William Wilcox, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. Suresh S. Boodram, Esq., and Evan D. Wesser, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protests arguing that the agency unreasonably rejected its proposals for design-build services in Iraq are denied where the agency reasonably found the protester non-responsible based on the protester’s ineligibility for base access as reflected in the Joint Contingency Contracting System. DECISION Jana Construction Contracting LTD Company, of Erbil, Iraq, protests the rejection of its proposals submitted pursuant to request for proposals (RFP) Nos. W5J9JE24R0004, W5J9JE24R0011, and W5J9JE24R0013, issued by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers (Corps) for design-build services at the Erbil Air Base located in Erbil, Iraq.[1] The protester contends that the agency unreasonably found the firm non-responsible. We deny the protests. BACKGROUND The agency issued the three RFPs at issue as part of the Corps’s Transatlantic Expeditionary District’s procurement effort at Erbil Air Force Base, with each RFP concerning a separate design-build construction project on the base. Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 1.[2] Each RFP contemplated the award of a single fixed-price contract issued under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15, with selection to be made on a lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) basis. Agency Report (AR), exh. 1, Conformed RFP No. W5J9JE24R0013, at 9, 23. Relevant here, each RFP required offerors to be registered in the Joint Contingency Contracting System (JCCS). Pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015, and as subsequently implemented by the U.S. Army Central Command (CENTCOM), agencies must ensure that all potential awardees for contracts to be performed in Africa and the Middle East are eligible for base access. Agencies determine an awardee’s eligibility for base access by checking the JCCS vendor vetting database. Memorandum of Law (MOL) at 3; see also Aria Target Logistics Servs., B‑408308.23, Aug. 22, 2014, 2014 CPD ¶ 253 at 2 n.2. The RFPs here directed that: “Offerors must be successfully registered in the JCCS and their registration completely processed and active in the JCCS database to be considered eligible for award.” RFP at 51. The RFPs further provided that the agency “may choose to search the JCCS database using the JCCS Company ID number supplied by the vendor to verify eligibility.” Id. The protester submitted timely proposals in response to each of the RFPs. Before evaluating proposals, the contracting officers reviewed offerors’ information in the JCCS database. COS at 2. As to Jana, the available information in JCCS reflected that the firm was ineligible for base access. The Corps represents that the fields indicating base access eligibility are not visible to offerors in JCCS; the information supporting a firm’s ineligibility for base access is classified as national security sensitive information that is not to be disseminated to vendors, contractors, subcontractors or representatives thereof. Id. at 3-4 (citing Dept. of Defense Manual 5200.01-vol. 1, encl. 3, ¶¶ 17.b(1)(d) and (2)). The Corps subsequently notified Jana that it was found to be non-responsible because its JCCS account “reflected a rating that rendered Jana ineligible for consideration of award.” AR, Tab 4, Notice of Unsuccessful Offeror at 1. On October 8, the Corps, represented by the contracting officers and the branch chief, held a debriefing with Jana regarding its unsuccessful offers. COS at 3. The Corps explained that, due to security requirements mandated by the Kurdistan Regional Government and its Asayish Security Forces, to access the Erbil Air Base, the RFPs were restricted to only those vendors on the Asayish List. Id.