Sept. 1 (UPI) — A joint venture team of Granite Construction and Obayashi Corporation has won a $165 million military infrastructure contract for Guam.
The award, announced by Granite this week, was issued by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific for the Finegayan Utilities and Site Improvements Phase I project in Finegayan, Guam.
The project is for the preparation of a 400-acre site for future construction of operational, administrative and bachelor housing structures for a new Marine Corps base.
The team will demolish existing structures on the site, relocate and add new utilities, roads and other infrastructure, including fencing, sidewalks and signage.
Clearing the site of unexploded ordnance and munitions is also part of the contract.
The new Marine base is located on the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, and will accommodate about a third of the 5,000 U.S. Marines who will be relocated from Okinawa in coming years.
Work on the project is expected to be finished by 2020, according to officials at Granite.
There are currently about 19,000 Marines on the Japanese island of Okinawa, where there is local pressure for their removal.
Guam, a U.S. Territory since 1898, is already an important hub for U.S. military operations in the Asia-Pacific region and the location of U.S. military installations.
