The long awaited procurement for the Sandia National Laboratories M&O procurement is scheduled to be awarded by April 2017, as the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) released a sources sought notice Wednesday and announced it will extend by another year Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] contract to run the Lab.

NNSA plans to conduct a full and open competition that includes a four-month transition period, with a five-month base period and options adding up to five years, the notice states.

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Lockheed Martin’s contract had been set to expire in March 2014, but right before it was to run out the NNSA granted a two-year extension for the contract with an option to extend it a third year. The NNSA this week granted the final extension through April 30, 2017, the notice states.

The sought-after contract has generated significant interest in recent years and is expected to attract numerous bidders. That includes previous announcements by Lockheed Martin and Fluor [FLR] that they plan to launch separate bids. The NNSA is looking for input from companies interested in the procurement, as well as “suggestions for improvement to the current contract and to the solicitation process,” according to the notice. Responses are due by June 30.