Maryland Gov. Wes Moore Seeks Redo of Controversial Procurement for BWI Concessionaire

Undoing a controversial procurement saga from last year, Gov. Wes Moore directed the Maryland Aviation Administration on Tuesday to start over its solicitation process to find a company to manage concessions at BWI Marshall Airport.

The aviation department will also ask the state’s Board of Public Works to renew a contract with BWI’s current concessionaire, Fraport, on a month-to-month basis after the current contract expires at the end of March, according to the release.

Last December, the MAA chose Landover-based New Market Development to head the airport’s concessions operations. The new firm is headed by Major F. Riddick Jr., a lobbyist who was chief of staff to former Gov. Parris Glendening. The aviation department’s choice of New Market did not make it to the BPW for final approval before Moore took office in January.

The Hogan administration’s choice of a politically connected company close to a change in office turned heads last year.

Fraport sued the MAA in December over the agency’s decision to select New Market in a case that is pending in Anne Arundel Circuit Court. Maryland Matters reported in January that state officials involved in the lawsuit had agreed with Fraport to hold off on recommending a new concessionaire until later this year, as long as the lawsuit was stayed until mid-February.

Fraport and its attorney, Michael J. Schrier; as well as Riddick, did not immediately return a request to comment Tuesday night.

In a statement, Moore said his administration “is committed to carefully crafting a new solicitation and a procurement process that encourages robust competition, fairness, and provisions that align with our administration’s values and short-term and long-term economic strategies.”

The concessionaire manages the Anne Arundel County airport’s retail and food operations as well as amenities, and develops and designs retail spaces within the airport. The airport is undergoing the largest terminal improvement project in BWI history, a $450 million expansion of the A/B concourse that will add 42,000 square feet of concession space to the airport, according to the release.

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