[Protest of Panama Canal Commission Contract Award for Hydraulic Power Systems]

A firm protested a Panama Canal Commission (PCC) contract award for hydraulic power systems, contending that the PCC unreasonably: (1) evaluated its proposal; (2) rejected its proposal; and (3) awarded the contract to the awardee, since it had an unfair competitive advantage due to its experience with the prototype contract. GAO held that: (1) PCC reasonably evaluated the protester's proposal in accordance with the solicitation's evaluation criteria; and (2) PCC reasonably found the information submitted with the protester's preliminary design insufficient to establish that the design could meet its technical requirements; and (3) the protester failed to provide evidence proving that PCC showed preferential treatment to the awardee. Accordingly, the protest was denied.