[Protest of Cancellation of VA Project]

A firm protested the cancellation and resolicitation of a Veterans Administration (VA) procurement for architect-engineer services. VA chose the protester as the firm most qualified to perform the required services, but delayed contract negotiations until the scope of the project could be resolved. VA subsequently determined that the scope of the project was much greater than originally envisioned, cancelled the original procurement, and plans to resolicit the required services. The protester contended that the cancellation was improper because the project did not have a specific scope at the time it was selected and that the scope could not have changed since then. GAO held that VA had a reasonable basis for the cancellation in that it cannot determine that the ranking of firms under the procurement would have remained the same, given the increased scope of the project. Accordingly, the protest was denied.