B -- SILO/GRAIN STORAGE FACILITIES FEASIBILITY STUDY, BULGARIA AND MONTENEGRO

Notice Date

November 29, 2001

Contracting Office

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

ZIP Code

22209-2131

Response Due

January 9, 2002

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 to review and analyze five silo and grain storage projects in Bulgaria and Montenegro. These private sector projects are too small to be considered individually, so this project entails a combined approach. These projects are a strong developmental priority for Bulgaria and Montenegro. Increased agricultural storage capacity will provide the farmers with access to a wider range of options in selling their products. Moreover, these facilities will increase the efficiency of current storage operations and will enable Bulgaria and Montenegro to engage in more regional trade. The five projects include: Varna Port Facility El-Si Grain Storage Remco Lesport Grain Terminal Bar Grain Terminal and Milling Complex A note on the Grantee: SEAF Management Bulgaria EOOD, an entity incorporated in Bulgaria, is a unique Grantee. As part of the Small Enterprise Assistance Funds, a Delaware-incorporated company, the fund's goal is to enrich the capital of private small and medium enterprises by adding value to the company and facilitating expansion. As a minority investor, SEAF identifies areas of improvement to enhance a company's profit and success. The fund is actively seeking suitable investments in the agribusiness sector in Bulgaria. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $136,500 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). 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 PM, January 9, 2002 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. 20011203/BSOL004.HTM (W-333 SN5139R9)