USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131

B -- AMUAY BAY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT EVALUATION STUDY IN VENEZUELA DUE 083100 POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 Amuay Bay Environmental Impact Evaluation Study in Venezuela. The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a feasibility study to look at environmental impact issues related to Amuay Bay in Venezuela. PDVSA, the national Venezuelan petroleum company, is seeking feasibility study funding from TDA for a comprehensive environmental impact study of Amuay Bay, the marine ecosystem contiguous to the Amuay Refinery on the Paraguana Peninsula. The Amuay Refinery and associated product transportation (ocean terminal) facilities have been in operation for approximately 50 years. The operation of the facility has likely had some impact on the viability of the ocean ecosystem and its commercial resources due to the discharge of untreated wastewater effluents to the Bay (secondary wastewater treatment was installed only as recently as 1995) as well asfrom several oil spills a the ocean terminal facilities (the most recent in 1996). In 1997, PDVSA was called to court to address the potential impact of the 1996 spill on local fishing industry, as claimed by a group of local citizens and commercial fishermen. The Venezuelan Congress and Environmental Ministry negotiated an agreement, to carry out a marine impact study. Completion of the study is being mandated under Environmental Penal Law Decree 883. The goals of the feasibility study are to: 1) Establish the current environmental condition of the Bay; 2) Determine the quality of the water and sediment in the Bay with reference to the classification of the Bay under Environmental Regulation Decree No. 833; 3) Conduct a socio-economic diagnosis of the refinery's impact on the local fishing industry; 4) Evaluate, using a risk analysis basis, remediation alternatives (if required) and/or impact compensation settlements (i.e., supplemental environmental projects) for damage to the marine ecosystem and commercial fishing industry. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $115,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). The Study has been estimated by TDA to cost U.S. $157,000. In addition to the TDA Grant funding of U.S. $115,000 and the Grantee funding of U.S. $30,000 the Contractor and/or its subcontractors must cover whatever cost is necessary to complete the full TOR (U.S. $12,000). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the TOR, 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 and Spanish directly to the Grantee by 4:00PM local Caracas time, August 31, 2000 at the above address. 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. Posted 07/17/00 (W-SN475556). (0199)

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