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6.8.05 Builder plans to hire locally for M.U.D. plant The St. Louis company hired to build a $235.7 million Metropolitan Utilities District water treatment plant says it plans to use a significant number of local workers on the project. M.U.D. selected Alberici Constructors Inc. to build the plant, which is intended to meet Omaha metro-area demand for 50 years. One other company, Walsh Construction of LaPorte, Ind., made a bid, of $251.8 million. Jay Reiter, spokesman for Alberici, said the company does about $600 million in business annually and has built water or sewer plants in Detroit, Independence, Mo., and Louisville, Ky., in recent years. Tom Wurtz, M.U.D. president, described Alberici as an excellent company and said he is confident it will deliver quality work. M.U.D. had estimated the cost of the project at $213 million. An HDR Engineering Inc. analysis for M.U.D. said a lack of competing bids and cost volatility may have driven up costs. The pool of potential bidders was limited by the size and complexity of the project, HDR said. The pool was further reduced because some eligible companies were busy elsewhere. Wurtz said M.U.D. is pleased by Alberici's commitment to use a substantial number of local workers. "It's not the general contractor's intent to bring in laborers from Texas or some other state," he said. "They intend to go to local union halls for most of the union labor." Some local union workers were disappointed when the Omaha Public Power District recently hired a nonunion company, Zachry Construction of Texas, to build a $630 million OPPD power plant at Nebraska City. "We plan to use a significant local labor force and local subcontractors during construction," said Greg Kozicz, president of Alberici. John Bourne, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 22, said he expects the project to require more than 100 local electrical workers alone. "It's not the 'pizazz' job, not a gorgeous new performing arts center or a wonderful new headquarters -- it's a water plant," Bourne said. "But it's so big, there are so many construction dollars in it, it's going to put a lot of people to work." Work is expected to begin this month. Alberici has until June 14, 2008, to complete the project. It will receive a $1.5 million bonus if it finishes work by April 1 of that year. At its peak, the three-year project will employ up to 450 workers. Utility approached Kiewit with offer Kiewit Construction Company was given an exclusive opportunity to vie for construction of M.U.D.'s new water treatment plant, but its proposed price came in too high for the utility. The Metropolitan Utilities District invited Kiewit to provide what is called a "construction manager at risk" offer to build the facility. Such a process, which does not involve sealed competitive bids, was used to build the Qwest Center. Kiewit said in February that it could build the plant for a guaranteed maximum price of $264 million. Any costs above that, Kiewit would absorb. If the project cost less, M.U.D. would be charged only that price. Kiewit's guaranteed maximum was above M.U.D.'s original $213 million estimate. And, according to an analysis by HDR Engineering Inc., there was an "undefined" potential for additional costs because of a "significant number of exceptions and exclusions" that Kiewit had attached to the project. Two bids subsequently were received from other companies, both higher than M.U.D.'s estimate, but below Kiewit's, and M.U.D. selected the lower bid from Albercic Constructors Inc. of St. Louis. Kiewit spokesman Tom Janssen declined to comment, saying the company has a policy of not talking about bids. |
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