JACKSON, Miss., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 1,600 Mississippi families
who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina are now living in temporary housing
provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), through its
contractor Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI).
As of Thursday, September 22, evacuees had moved into 1,575 trailers and
other housing units in Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson Counties. Another 1,791
units have been staged and are ready for occupancy, while 3,474 more units are
in place and being readied for families to move in.
Ike Richardson, BNI's project manager, said, "Our Katrina Recovery Team is
working hand-in-hand with FEMA and state and local officials to identify sites
and put housing units in place. Bechtel's staff and our local Mississippi
subcontractors are working seven days a week to move families in as fast as we
can."
The work managed by BNI is currently employing roughly 700 people from
Mississippi and other Gulf states, in addition to over 200 Bechtel employees
working in the region. BNI plans to continue using as many local suppliers and
contractors as possible on this project. The BNI project team is currently
working from offices in Jackson and is establishing additional field offices
in the affected areas.
BNI encourages local contractors and suppliers to register at the Bechtel
supplier/contractor site at http://supplier.bechtel.com . There they will find
a list of some of the equipment the company may need, and instructions on how
to complete registration in the corporate database. Individuals seeking
employment with Bechtel should express their interest through the company's
Web site at http://www.bechtel.com/careers/ .
BNI has been working in Mississippi since early September under an interim
agreement with FEMA while the scope of work, contract value, and terms are
formalized. Bechtel was selected to perform this work based on the company's
extensive experience in emergency response and restoration work, including
rescue and recovery at the World Trade Center in New York after 9/11, building
Kosovar refugee camps in Albania, cleanup of Three Mile Island, extinguishing
oil fires in Kuwait, and performing safety assessments after major earthquakes
in San Francisco, Taiwan, and Turkey.
About Bechtel
Bechtel is a global engineering, construction, and project management
company with more than a century of experience managing complex projects in
challenging locations. The privately owned company has 40,000 employees
working in 50 countries.
Since 1898, Bechtel has completed 22,000 projects in 140 nations on all
seven continents. Notable accomplishments include Hoover Dam, The San
Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit, Hong Kong Airport Core Programme, The
English Channel Tunnel, the Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, the Athens
Metro, the Jeddah and Riyadh International Airports, Croatia Motorway, Three-
Mile Island nuclear cleanup, build out of wireless networks for AT&T and
Cingular wireless, and many others.
Hurricane Katrina: Bechtel's Emergency Relief Work For FEMA
Accomplishments (as of Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005)
* Displaced families have moved into 1,575 units in Hancock, Harrison,
and Jackson Counties
* Another 1,791 units are staged and ready for occupancy
* Another 3,474 units are staged and being readied for occupancy
* Bechtel has identified possible sites for 4,000 mobile housing
units.
Contracting and Employment
* To date, our work is employing roughly 700 people from Mississippi
and other Gulf states to support our disaster relief efforts, in
addition to over 150 Bechtel employees working in the region. We
plan to continue to use as many local suppliers and contractors as
possible on this project. We encourage local contractors and
suppliers to register at the Bechtel supplier/contractor site at
http://supplier.bechtel.com . There they will find a list of some of
the equipment we may need, and instructions on how to complete
registration in our database.
* Individuals seeking employment with Bechtel should express their
interest should contact http://www.bechtel.com/careers/ .
Bechtel's Assignment
Bechtel is one of five companies FEMA selected to site and set up
temporary housing for displaced families. Our work is primarily in three
coastal Mississippi counties: Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson. Bechtel has been
working in Mississippi since early September under an interim agreement with
FEMA while the scope of work, contract value, and terms are formalized. We are
identifying local resources, including available rental units, vacant housing
complexes, and open space that can be used to build group sites. We are also
meeting with local officials regarding housing options and researching local
codes associated with building and land use.
Contributions
* Between August 29 and September 8, FEMA assigned a series of tasks
to Bechtel for urgent humanitarian relief work. Bechtel will
contribute profits from that initial work for the benefit of victims
of this natural disaster.
* In addition, Bechtel and our employees have made nearly $1.3 million
in contributions to the American Red Cross.
Disaster Recovery Experience
Bechtel was selected to perform this work based on our extensive
experience in emergency response and restoration work, including rescue and
recovery at the World Trade Center in New York after 9/11, building Kosovar
refugee camps in Albania, cleanup of Three Mile Island, extinguishing oil
fires in Kuwait, and safety assessments after major earthquakes in San
Francisco, Taiwan, and Turkey.
SOURCE Bechtel National, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.bechtel.com
CONTACT:
Michael Kidder of Bechtel National, Inc.,
+1-240-379-3261, or cell, +1-415-990-2612, or
mgkidder@bechtel.com
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