Two San Fernando Valley firms are among five joint ventures pre-qualified to bid on construction of the 22-mile third leg of California’s bullet train, running from the Tulare-Kern County line northwest to Bakersfield. The contract’s estimated value is between $400 and $500 million. Tutor Perini Corp. of Sylmar, Zachry Construction Corp. of San Antonio, Texas and Parsons Corp. of Pasadena form one of the five entities pre-qualified by the California High-Speed Rail Authority on Monday. In 2013, the joint venture won a $1 billion contract to build the first 29-mile segment of the line, which will run from Madera to Fresno in the Central Valley. Also pre-qualified on Monday was a joint venture composed of Security Paving Co. of Sun Valley, and Salini Impregilo S.p.A. of Milan, Italy. They have not entered the bidding process in the past, according to the Fresno Bee, which first reported the news. The remaining construction teams named Monday are California Rail Builders, which includes Ferrovial Agroman US Corp., an American subsidiary of Ferrovial S.A. of Spain; Central Valley Connection Builders, composed of Spanish firms FCC Construccion S.A. and Corsan-Corviam Construccion S.A.; and Dragados / Flatiron Joint Venture, a team that includes Dragados USA Inc., an American subsidiary Grupo ACS and Dragados S.A. of Spain, and Flatiron West Inc. of San Marcos. The second segment of the bullet train line, 65 miles from Fresno to the Tulare-Kern County line, has already been awarded for $1.3 billion to a joint venture consisting of Dragados, Flatiron and Shimmick Construction Co. Inc. of Irvine. Capstone Turbine Corp. received an order for one of its microturbines for use in five commercial buildings in Medellin, Colombia. The Chatsworth alternative energy manufacturer received the order for the C1000 microturbine through Supernova Energy Services S.A.S., its Colombian distributor. The microturbine is expected to be operational in October. The natural gas-powered device will provide power to five commercial buildings in the Jose Maria Cordova Administrative Center that houses government offices and private companies. “Growth in markets like Central and South America is critical to Capstone’s future revenue growth and further diversifies and strengthens our global distribution channel,” said Capstone Chief Executive Darren Jamison in a prepared statement. Shares closed down at less than a penny, or about 1 percent, to 63 cents on the Nasdaq.
