MODIFICATION
B -- Ghana - FEASIBILITY STUDY: ENERGY ACCESS FOR AFRAM PLAINS SOUTH "Technical"
- Notice Date
- 10/5/2018
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- United States Trade and Development Agency, USTDA, USTDA, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, 1101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100, PO Box 12268, Arlington, Virginia, 22209-3901, United States
- ZIP Code
- 22209-3901
- Solicitation Number
- 2018-11018A
- Archive Date
- 10/27/2018
- Point of Contact
- Jennifer Vanrenterghem, Phone: 703-875-4357, Anna Amaya, Phone: 703-875-4357
- E-Mail Address
-
RFPQuestions@ustda.gov, RFPQuestions@ustda.gov
(RFPQuestions@ustda.gov, RFPQuestions@ustda.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Modification #3: Q: The Terms of Reference Task 3(c) states: "The Contractor shall work with the Beneficiary and ExIm to advance an ExIm application for the Project before the conclusion of the Study." What specifically is meant by "advance" (e.g. Is there a specific step of the ExIm Bank application process which should be completed)? A: There is not a specific step in the process that should be completed. The Contractor should work with the Grantee and ExIm to move the process as far as possible. As you will note, part of the Study includes putting together tendering documents. It will be important that these tendering documents are developed with US ExIm funding in mind. The Grantee has expressed a desire for the Project to be funded by US ExIm if possible. Q: Task 4: Preliminary Environmental and Social Impact Assessment states: "With the support of the Beneficiary, the Contractor shall engage a local firm with accreditation from the Ghanaian Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation or any other institution recognized by the Ghanaian Government, to carry out Environmental Social Safeguards ("ESS"). The ESS shall address Ghana's regulator requirements for environmental analysis for this type of Project." Is a "preliminary ESS" or a full ESS required under this task? A: A preliminary ESS is required that meets the Ghana's regulatory requirements which are more limited for minigrids than for a large-scale energy project. Q: According to Task 5. U.S. Sources of Supply: the Contractor shall prepare "(ii) a description of relevant products, solutions and services to be provided, along with prices and competitiveness with other sources of supply; (iii) an assessment of the strengths of each potential supplier and service provider for the Project." This type of comparative company competitiveness analysis is typically done through an official tendering process with clear guidelines. Is there a set of guidelines which USTDA and/or the Beneficiary expects the Contractor to follow in order to ensure a fair and transparent process for U.S. Companies to be evaluated through this analysis. A: No, although the Contractor for the Study is always welcome to engage USTDA if it is having trouble fulfilling the TOR. Q: Can the Beneficiary provide a list of towns/sites that will be included in the TA? A: No. This list will be finalized once the Contract has been awarded. Q: Task 1.(a) of the TOR as well as Annex 6 refer to 67 villages. Task 2.2 of the TOR states that "A unique load profile must be developed for each mini-grid". Can we assume that if a mini-grid is comprised of multiple clustered villages/sites, the Contractor must develop only one unique load profile for the entire clustered mini-grid. A: Yes. Q: Will the Local Project Manager (Task 8) be required to work from the Ministry of Energy office premises on a full-time basis (8 hrs/day, 5 days/week) for the entire 6-month duration of the project? Or will it be acceptable for this person to work from their own office and interact with the Ministry on an as-needed basis? A: While it is assumed the Local Project Manager will spend significant time each week at the Ministry of Energy over the six month period, it is unlikely that they will be required to work on a full-time basis for six months from the Ministry of Energy. The exact amount of time in the office will be determined through discussions between the winning offerer and the Grantee. Q: Whereas the budget in Annex 6 provides details for the labor hours and rates assumed to develop the budget, no details are provided for the Travel other than stating that "GPTECH estimates travel costs to be $117,000 for this Project, including international flights, per diem, local travel, and miscellaneous costs." Could we get more details about the assumptions for the number of international trips, US gateway, number of days, and the break-up of the total between international and local travel? A: No, this is a lump-sum budget, and the offerer is requested to submit a bid that meets the requirements of the TOR within the set budget. The estimated costs were just illustrative and have since been removed from the RFP to avoid confusion.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/TDA/TDA1/TDA1/2018-11018A/listing.html)
- Record
- SN05117127-W 20181007/181005230358-4e0c3f6d1aaa3ff1149c7f37e9f1144f (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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