Contact: Mr. C. T. (Tom) Shurstad, Chief Operating Officer, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB), Corporate Headquarters, Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50621 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: 011-603-275-7450; Fax: 011-603-274-6400

B -- MALAYSIA -- KTMB RAILWAY MODERNIZATION PROJECT POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009. The Grantee, KTM Berhad (KTMB), the Malaysian Railway invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a feasibility study to provide assistance to KTMB. KTMB seeks assistance in three areas: (1) Locomotive availability: Improvement of locomotive availability and a design for a new workshop for locomotives and other equipment; (2) Signal, communications and dispatch system improvements and use of the improvements to increase system capacity and reduce operating expenses; and (3) Intermodal business development. The result of the feasibility study will be a set of plans which, when implemented, will create the following outcomes: (1) (a) The backlog of locomotives currently in the main shop will be cleared, (b) locomotive availability will reach 80% to 90%, (c) maintenance of locomotives, EMUs, wagons and coaches will be professionally managed by, or outsourced to,a qualified equipment maintenance contractor, and (d) a new shop will be built; (2) (a) KTMB will have an internal communications network created by linking the company to the fiber optic network installed along its right-of-way, (b) powered switches will be installed where they do not now exist, (c) a modified form of train control using the new internal communications network will be in place in areas such as between Rawang and Ipoh where capacity has been reached and, as a result, system capacity will be increased, and (d) opportunities to reduce operating expenses because of the availability of the new communications network will have been identified and implemented; and (3) (a) Intermodal business will have dramatically increased primarily through large increases in container business to and from Port Klang, (b) KTMB will have an excellent container service offering, (c) good container terminal facilities will have been designed and constructed, (d) container car supply will be adequate, and (e) hardware and software systems will be in place to manage container operations. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $500,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background definitional mission report are available from USTDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the POC, USTDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want USTDA to use an overnight delivery service (such as Federal Express) should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to USTDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to USTDA before scheduling a pickup. Please note that no telephone request for the RFP will be honored. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this USTDA-financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under USTDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the USTDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the USTDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the USTDA grant amount. Details of USTDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English directly to the Grantee at the address shown above by 3:00 P.M., April 23, 1998. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals. (0071)

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