Serco wins $323M contract for Space Force base construction

Herndon-based technology and management contractor Serco Inc., a subsidiary of United Kingdom-based Serco PLC, has won a contract worth an estimated $323 million for construction work at the U.S. Space Force’s Pituffik Space Base in Greenland.

Under the four-year U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract, which Serco announced last week, the company will manage facility repairs and upgrades to the backup electrical plant at the base.

Formerly known as Thule Air Base, Pituffik Space Base is locked by ice nine months out of the year, although the airfield is operated year-round. Serco will have a tight schedule to build a temporary backup power plant while a team of experts renovates the current backup plant.

The Pituffik base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance missions. The Defense Department’s northernmost base, it exists because of mutual defense agreements between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Denmark.

“This contract award builds on Serco’s strong capabilities in systems design and installation, as well as our exemplary past performance on defense construction projects,” Tom Watson, Serco’s CEO in North America, said in a statement. “Serco is proud to have the opportunity to support this mission-critical large-scale system upgrade project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Space Force.”

Serco has subcontracted with Aarsleff, a Danish construction engineering company. The new alternate power plant will provide greater and more stable electrical capacity to the base, according to a news release.

Serco has more than 50,000 employees in 35 countries, about 9,000 of whom are employed in the Americas.