The Terminal 6 Project, which has an estimated value between $800 million to $1 billion is part of O'Hare's World Gateway Program announced almost two years ago by Mayor Richard M. Daley.

"The World Gateway Program is a critical development project that will benefit not just Chicago, but the entire Region providing jobs and economic development valued at over $34 billion," said Mayor Daley. "We are committed to ensuring that minority and women business enterprise participation goals are met or exceed requirements," Mayor Daley added.

The four teams that have submitted statements of qualifications are:

The Design-Build Team will be required to meet the City's requirements for the use of City residents (50%), minority and female workers for the construction of the Project.

"It is the City's goal to continue to meet and exceed minority and women business enterprise participation requirements whenever possible," said Chief Procurement Officer David Malone.

World Gateway will reconfigure O'Hare International Airport to optimize existing infrastructure so that its facilities will better serve the emerging trends in the aviation industry providing greater conveniences for the traveling public.

Design and construction will not begin until the environmental analysis has been completed later this year. The City of Chicago Department of Aviation must receive environmental review approval from the Federal Aviation Administration as part of the Program's Environmental Assessment.

Terminal 6 is the first phase of the Project. The selected Design-Build Team will be responsible for designing and constructing the proposed 550,000 square foot Terminal Building located adjacent to O'Hare's International Terminal 5. The team will also reconfigure the existing Automatic Transit System (ATS), complete upper level and lower level access roadways, construct a temporary terminal extension, an aircraft apron strip, a pedestrian bridge, a staging area for snow removal and other incidental work for the design and construction of the Project.

The Terminal 6 Project presents many complex engineering and construction challenges. Design-Build contracting is a method of project delivery in which the City executes a single contract with one entity, the Design-Build Team, to provide project management, design, engineering and construction services.

By allocating these responsibilities to a single contractor, the Department of Aviation establishes a single point of contact responsibility. for the design and construction of the Project.

"Design-Build contracting has continued to gain acceptance in both the public and private sectors as a method for achieving the desired quality of design construction within a specified time frame while containing costs," said Aviation Commissioner Thomas R. Walker. We are pleased that firms with experience in successfully completing projects of similar size and complexity have responded and are convinced that a Design-Build process will more efficiently deliver the Terminal 6 Project within the established budget," he added.

Based on the Project's estimated value and M/WBE commitments made by the responding firms, M/WBE's are projected to receive between $240 million to $300 million in contract awards for the design and construction of the Project.

The World Gateway Program will create at least 8,000 construction jobs, adding an even greater benefit to the $34 billion in economic activity O'Hare currently contributes. The Program will be funded entirely with a combination of Passenger Facility Charges, federal grants and airline-backed bonds. No taxpayer dollars will be used to finance the project.