LAX expands business opportunities for disabled veterans
Staff Writer |
The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) voted unanimously to amend the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) Local Business and Local Small Business Enterprise Program Ordinance to create a new category for businesses owned by disabled veterans.
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The amendment would encourage Disabled Veterans-Owned Business Enterprises (DVBEs) to compete for LAWA contracting opportunities at Los Angeles International (LAX) and Van Nuys (VNY) airports.
LAWA contracts valued over $150,000 would be reviewed and evaluated for business inclusion and setting of mandatory levels of participation and subcontracting.
“LAWA is currently spending an average of nearly $3 million per day as part of a $14 billion Capital Improvement Program at LAX, and we want veterans to know that they have a role to play in modernizing the airport,†said Board of Airport Commissioners President Sean Burton.
“Expanding our program to include disabled veteran-owned businesses is a win-win for LAWA. We get dependable partners who can get the job done and these businesses participate in the transformation of LAX.â€
The amendments recommended were written not only to encourage DVBEs to compete for LAWA contracting opportunities, but also to ease the process for disabled veterans seeking to establish and maintain a local business in Los Angeles and throughout California.
One of the expanded program’s goals will be to ensure that a greater proportion of LAWA contracts are awarded locally, which contributes to the region’s economic growth by increasing incomes, spending, and tax generation.
In September 2016, five small, local businesses were among 11 primary contractors that were approved by the BOAC to receive seven-year contracts to provide support services for LAWA’s Capital Improvement Program, with other local and small businesses included as subcontractors.
LAWA also hosted a several Business Enterprise Forums in 2016 to further educate small and local businesses on how they could participate in LAX’s $5.5-billion Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP) and will continue the outreach in 2017 with a focus on DVBEs. ■