Fisher Sand and Gravel, a North Dakota-based company, has been awarded the contract to to build sections of a wall on the US.-Mexico border, the US Defense Department announced on Monday (Dec 3).
The construction company won the $400 million contract to build a 50-km wall in Arizona’s Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, to be completed by the end of 2020.
US President Donald Trump has been personally pitching for the company. He is said to have repeatedly urged the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to consider awarding the border wall contract to the North Dakota construction firm whose top executive is a GOP donor and frequent guest on Fox News.
Company chief executive Tommy Fisher is a GOP donor and has claimed during appearances on Fox News that the company can build the border wall faster than the Army Corps of Engineers.
During his election campaign that eventually catapulted him to the top job in US, Trump promised to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border stretching over 800 km by the end of his tenure. So far, only 136 km of barrier have been constructed.
Trump’s effort to secure fund the construction wall has continued to face resistance from House Democrats who have denied spending for it from federal budget. In response, the Trump administration declared a national emergency to divert funds from the Pentagon to build the barrier.