About $1.5 trillion will be spent globally on airport infrastructure by 2030, according to the International Air Transport Association. Most of that enormous amount of money will be spent on projects that must be constructed without disrupting airport operations.

Given the focus on schedule and on the cost of failing to complete the construction during the periods of planned outages, the need for a highly qualified construction contractor with a proven record of timely and quality production is key to the success of airport projects across the globe.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Synthesis 102: Value, Benefits, and Limitations of Qualifications-Based Selection for Airport Project Delivery aims to benchmark the state of the practice with respect to the use of qualifications-based selection (QBS) to award construction projects.