Mr. Ahmet Ceni, Deputy Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Abdi Toptani Street 4, Tirana, Albania; Tel:355-42-34-654, Fax:355-42-34-654

B -- DEADLINE EXTENSION FOR THE ALBANIA-PORT OF DURRES MULTI-MODAL CONTAINER FACILITY FEASIBILITY STUDY POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 This is a notice of deadline extension for the Albania-Port of Durres Multi-Modal Container Facility Feasibility Study. Per request of the grantee, the closing date for the Feasibility Study RFP has been extended from July 26, 1999 to August 31, 1999. The Albanian Ministry of Public Works and Transport invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms that are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a feasibility study concerning the Multi-Modal Container Facility in the Port of Durres, Albania. The Port of Durres has become the focus of the Albanian Ministry of Public Works and Transport since the proposed development of Corridor 8 under the South Balkan Development Initiative project. The Government of Albania is aware that a multi-modal terminal will be required to handle the traffic that is anticipated for Corridor 8 during the next several years, and the Port of Durres serves as a gateway to Corridor 8. The Albanian Ministry of Public Works and Transport would be the Grantee for this project, which would require up to an estimated $96 million to complete. Of this total, there is an estimated potential for $53 million in U.S. exports. Due to the scope of work necessary to develop a rational strategy for future developments in the Port of Durres, the feasibility study requires the following tasks: (1) Traffic Forecasting: The objective of this task would be to obtain a realistic estimate of the traffic likely to pass through Corridor 8 in the next 10 to 15 years with a projection beyond this time period to 20 and 25 years. (2) Transport Economics: Based on the traffic forecasts, this task would identify Corridor 8 transport costs. Comparisons would be made to other routes or means. This task would help assess the suitability of Corridor 8 for a variety of cargoes and destinations. This exercise would provide a competitive freight cost and identify improvements in pricing and cost structures. Specific routings to be included in the feasibility study would be: (a) cargoes from U.S. East Coast, and other ports further afield, to the CIS and countries on this route; (b) cargoes from Northern Europe to the CIS and countries on the route, and; (d) cargoes from Italy to the CIS an countries on the route. (3) Phase One Report: The report would include the detailed forecasts from Phase One, as well as a plan of action for the rest of the study. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $160,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). Upon completion of the Phase One Study, the Contractor shall submit a Phase One Final Report to the Grantee and to TDA. TDA would consider providing up to an additional $318,000 for Phase Two, subject to the outcome of Phase One and to the availability of TDA funds. TDA authorization to proceed with Phase Two TDA funding would be set forth in a letter to the Grantee and to the Contractor. TDA is under no obligation to cover expenses incurredby the Contractor for Phase Two if TDA does not provide such written authorization to proceed. 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 TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA 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 TDA to use an overnight delivery service 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 TDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mail-room before calling TDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this TDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under TDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the TDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the TDA-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 TDA grant amount. Details of TDA'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 by 4:00 p.m., August 31, 1999 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Although price will not be a factor in contractor selection, cost proposals must be submitted for the purpose of evaluating proposed allotments of resources. 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. Posted 07/20/99 (I-SN356617). (0201)

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