B -- REGIONAL RAILROAD INTERCONNECTIVITY PROJECT

Notice Date

November 7, 2000

Contracting Office

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

ZIP Code

22209-2131

Response Due

December 19, 2000

Point of Contact

POC -- Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009

Description

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 for analyzing rail links between Bulgaria and Macedonia. This railroad interconnectivity project has been a national transportation priority of the Bulgarian and Macedonian Governments for many years. Currently, Macedonia has no rail links east to Bulgaria. There are 18.5 miles of existing track in Macedonia that require reconstruction and an additional 34 miles of new track needed to reach the Macedonian-Bulgarian border. The westernmost point of the Bulgarian railways is 1.8 miles shy of the border. Construction needs include new bridges and tunnels, as well as the laying of new railroad track. The terrain in this region is mountainous and difficult to pass. Transportation between these two countries relies on a mountain pass. The study includes a review of existing engineering and financial plans from a 1996 study funded by the German Corporation for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and completed by EWI and BPI (of Switzerland and Germany, respectively). The Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Transport recently asked for TDA's assistance in updating the study, which based its assumptions on higher-cost technologies that inflated the project's capital requirements. This study consists of two components. Part A will include general project management plus economic, market and financial analysis. Part B will comprise construction and cost analysis. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). The amount allotted to this project will not exceed $234,000. A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background desk study 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, pm, local time, December 19, 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.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20001109/BSOL003.HTM (W-312 SN5061U0)