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One company had 61,000 employees, the other had two. Both got multi-million dollar contracts to rebuild Puerto Rico

$840 million

Officials rebuilding the power grid of Puerto Rico are more than tripling the size of their contract with Texas firm Fluor, from $240 million to $840 million.

Published   |  Photo by Reuters/Alvin Baez
c-pr-fire-RTS1HLXN-Alvin Baez
$840 million

The expanded contract came days after local authorities decided to cancel a controversial contract with small Montana firm Whitefish.

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Reuters/Alvin Baez

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$840 million

The no-bid deal raised suspicion of favoritism and is now reportedly being probed by the FBI.

c-pr-fire-RTS1HLXN-Alvin Baez
$840 million

Founded a century ago, Fluor employs 61,000 people. Founded two years ago, Whitefish employs two. Fluor operates in 100 countries while Whitefish operates only in the US.

c-pr-fire-RTS1HLXN-Alvin Baez

Reuters/Alvin Baez

c-pr-fire-RTS1HLXN-Alvin Baez
$840 million

Nevertheless, when picking contractors, authorities gave $300 million to Whitefish, the small Montana firm, and $240 million to Fluor, the largest construction company in the Fortune 500.

c-pr-fire-RTS1HLXN-Alvin Baez

Reuters/Alvin Baez

c-pr-fire-RTS1HLXN-Alvin Baez
$840 million

Firms like Fluor are working to repair the power grid, which consists of 300 stations, 2,400 miles of high-voltage power lines that cover long distances, and 30,000 miles of local power lines.

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