Defense, Contracts, IT

SAIC Says Greek Government Has Finally Accepted $322 Million Athens Olympics Project

Bruce V. Bigelow 12/23/08

It might have won a gold medal for longest-running contract dispute. Finally, though, it’s over—or so it seems. San Diego defense contractor SAIC said yesterday the Greek government has formally accepted the sophisticated “command and control” security network the company installed for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. The company also known as Science Applications International Corp. said the price tag for its marathon installation is approximately $322 million.

Troubles with the contract prompted the secretive research and engineering conglomerate to postpone its IPO from December 2005 until October 2006. Negotiations to resolve the dispute dragged on for years, and even yesterday’s announcement was puzzling.

The Greek government, which refused to pay for the project until SAIC fixed technical problems, publicly announced it was satisfied with the work in March 2007. Perhaps that was just a negotiating tactic. SAIC declined comment at that time, saying it had not seen documents. The company remained silent about the issue until yesterday.

In its announcement yesterday, SAIC said the Command, Control, Communications, Coordination and Integration system was designed to address the public safety and security needs of the Greek police, fire brigades, coast guard and ambulance service.

Bruce V. Bigelow is the editor of Xconomy San Diego. You can e-mail him at bbigelow@xconomy.com or call 858-202-0492