Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing board of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District may, at its discretion, elect to design and construct all or any part of the extension of the district’s transit facilities to the San Francisco International Airport. If the board elects to design and construct the project, it shall comply with all of the following procurement procedures:
(a)
A request for qualifications shall be prepared and submitted to an adequate number of sources, as determined by the district, in its discretion, to permit reasonable competition consistent with the nature and requirements of that portion of the extension the district has elected to design and construct in accordance with this section. In addition, notice of the request for qualifications shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation, which publication shall be at least 10 days before responses to the request for qualifications are received. The request for qualifications shall identify the minimum standards that the district has determined, in its discretion, shall be met or exceeded by a contractor to successfully design and construct the project described in this section. Those standards may include, but are not limited to, technical experience and capability, financial condition and capacity, organization, and personnel.
(b)
All respondents determined by the district to meet or exceed the minimum standards set forth in the request for qualifications shall be considered prequalified. The district may, in its discretion, repeat the prequalification process described in subdivision (a). If the district has prequalified at least three respondents, it may invite those prequalified to submit sealed bids for the project based upon plans and specifications prepared by the district. Only those who have been prequalified are eligible for award of a contract. Award shall be made to the prequalified bidder submitting the lowest responsive bid.
(c)
The board may reject any and all bids and request new bids.