SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Egypt: Feasibility Study: Cold Chain System
- Notice Date
- 9/6/2005
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- United States Trade and Development Agency, USTDA, USTDA, 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, C/O US TDA 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, Arlington, VA, 22209-3901
- ZIP Code
- 22209-3901
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-0521008B
- Response Due
- 10/17/2005
- Archive Date
- 10/31/2005
- Description
- POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, Arlington, VA 22209-3901, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT CONTRACTS OFFICE; PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PLACE: Mr. Hossam Aly El Cheikh, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry, 2 Latin America St., Garden City, Cairo, Egypt, Phone: (202) 792-1201, Fax: (202) 792-1198 Egypt Cold Chain System Feasibility Study. 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 complete a Feasibility Study of a cold chain system and refrigerated facilities at Luxor Airport in Southern Egypt. The World Bank released a report in 2001 entitled ?Arab Republic of Egypt: Toward Agricultural Competitiveness in the 21st Century.? The report states that the greatest barrier to agricultural exports in Egypt is the failure to deliver the quality of products required by export markets because of the lack of cold storage facilities and a cold chain system in Southern Egypt. Currently, high value agricultural products are exported to Europe, and the Gulf States (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE), but because of the hot climate in Southern Egypt (average 75 F? in winter and 110 F? in summer) and the lack of cold storage facilities and distribution links, most of the products are unsuitable for export. Most products are exported by airfreight and the lack of airport cold storage facilities jeopardizes their quality. Egypt?s economic growth is imperative for poverty reduction. Tackling unemployment by providing jobs for Egypt?s growing working age population is equally vital-not only for growth, but also for social stability. Current official estimates place unemployment at 10 percent (although it is widely believed to be higher), and labor-force growth at around 3 percent annually, or about 550,000 new entrants per year. Egypt will need to achieve a sustained real GDP growth rate of at least 7 percent annually for unemployment to decline to more manageable levels. To achieve and sustain these levels of economic growth, the country needs to spur more domestic savings and investment, and increase efficiency and competition. It is essential for the country to improve export performance and rely less on external resources that are vulnerable to shocks, especially tourism. In today?s market of high quality agricultural commodities, buyers demand/require that the Cold Chain be maintained for perishable commodities from harvest to the end-buyer/receiver. Because of the lack of a Cold Chain System in Southern Egypt and cold storage facilities at Luxor Airport, regionally produced agricultural commodities lose the competitive edge of quality and price, which impedes current national policies on poverty reduction and export improvement programs for Southern Egypt. The establishment of the Cold Chain System will provide significant benefits to the region such as: Achieving promising export potential and improving direct exports from Southern Egypt. Providing significant economic development to the region. Maximizing the regional agricultural capabilities through quality improvement. Assisting the national poverty alleviation programs to achieve its goals. The vital components of the Project include the construction of a centralized grower packing and shipping facility that provides the necessary grading, packaging, pre-cooling and cold storage facilities, refrigerated transport, and cold storage facilities at Luxor Airport. The airport is a key transportation facility for the export of Egypt?s high value crops in the south. Luxor is located on the Nile River in Southern Egypt. It is a very short distance from the airport to the seaports on the Red Sea. A cold storage facility at Luxor Airport would provide refrigerated transportation options, which could enable access to the Red Sea Ports for exports to the Arab Gulf States. Sea transport across the Red Sea can be as short as a few hours, and is only 15% of the cost of air transport. The Egyptian Government recently completed a 7-year land reclamation project entitled ?The Toshka Valley Project? in Southern Egypt, which made it possible for Egyptians to reclaim thousands of acres of previously underutilized land to grow high quality agriculture commodities. However, the project revealed that the lack of a Cold Chain System and cold storage facilities at Luxor Airport prevents high value agricultural commodities that have great potential for the export market from meeting international market specifications. Establishing the Cold Chain System in Southern Egypt is a key priority of the Government of Egypt in order to improve the current economic potential of the reclaimed lands to encourage the growth of high demand agricultural products, and assist in export development programs, which will have a positive impact on poverty reduction programs in the region. The Feasibility Study will consist of the following tasks: 1) Technical Analysis; 2) Economic Analysis; 3) Financial Analysis; 4) Environmental Analysis; 5) Regulatory Issues; 6) Proposed Goods and Services Implementation; 7) Implementation Plan; 8) Host Country Development Impact Analysis; 9) Final Report, with a design and tender document to execute the project. And estimated budgetary figure to execute the project. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $390,000 grant to the Grantee from 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 desk study report are available from USTDA, at 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, Arlington, VA 22209-3901. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, 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 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 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, USTDA 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 USTDA. 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 by 12:00 noon, October 17, 2005 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
- SN00887460-W 20050908/050906212530 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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