The Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority on Tuesday selected aviation consultant Aecom Technology Corp., of Los Angeles, to oversee its $90 million expansion project.

The authority board voted 6-0 with one abstention to hire Aecom after that firm and rival Bovis Lend Lease, of Sydney, Australia, pitched their services in separate, 45-minute presentations at the airport's administration building.

The two finalists were selected from among five firms that submitted responses to a request for proposals issued in mid-July.

The airport authority and staff appeared to believe Aecom was the clear hands-down winner of the competition during a short discussion after the Bovis presentation.

"It's pretty evident Aecom has more experience with this particular type of project," authority member the Rev. Marion Johnson said.

Aecom is involved in the current expansion project at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and is also a contractor for the development of the state of Illinois' planned airport at Peotone.

Airport authority members received assurances from Aecom that personnel involved in the Peotone project would not work at Gary and that there would be no conflicts of interest.

The selection of a project manager comes at a critical time for the Gary airport. The expansion plan has fallen behind schedule, and the Federal Aviation Administration, a prime funder of the project, has set a deadline of the end of 2013 for completing work.

Both firms presenting Tuesday said they could complete the work by sometime in 2014 in line with the requirement of the original request for proposals. Both also said it was possible the work could be completed by the end of 2013 barring unforeseen circumstances.

No specific price tag is attached to the job. Instead, the airport authority approved commencing negotiations on a contract with Aecom. The job could be worth millions of dollars.

Tuesday was the second time the airport authority board voted on a motion to make Aecom the project manager for its expansion.

In early July, the board deadlocked 3-3 on hiring Aecom over another management firm, CDM. The motion to hire Aecom failed mainly on concerns over the fact the original request for proposals issued in June was not publicly advertised.

The airport authority then developed a second request for proposals, which it advertised for bid in July.