U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it plans to start awarding contracts by mid-April for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall.
The agency said Friday on a website for federal contractors that a request for bids would be published on or around March 6. Companies would have to submit "concept papers" to design and build prototypes by March 10.
Click on the icons in the image below to learn more about 4 of the major takeaways from the new border wall plan, including areas of initial wall building.
Below are some of the major takeaways from the DHS's implementation plans for the southern border wall:
- Border Patrol has identified areas of the Southern border (including Arizona) where they will replace fencing that is no longer effective.
- Right now, Border Patrol is assessing the following factors: the current security issues at the border. The terrain they'll have to navigate around. What federal & state resources are available to achieve operational control.
- Border Patrol says they will be finished that assessment well before the 6 month deadline put in place by the President in January. But, they did not give an exact estimate of when they'll submit their report.
- Initial Construction will be located in: Southern Arizona, El Paso, Texas & El Centro, California.
- Border Patrol has identified funding to begin immediate construction and is working with the Trump Administration in these efforts.
CBP will narrow the field by March 20 and require that finalists renew their offers by March 24, with a price attached.
The timetable shows that Trump is aggressively pursuing plans to build what he calls "a great wall" on the 2,000-mile border with Mexico.
Trump told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday that construction will start "very soon" and is ahead of schedule.
