Ms. Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, Minister of Planning, Ministry of Planning, P.O. Box 555, Amman, Jordan; Tel. 011-962-6-644-466; Fax 011-962-6-649-341

C -- JORDAN RIFT VALLEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS FEASIBILITY STUDY DUE 062496 POC Carol Stillwell, USTDA, Room 309, SA-16, Washington, D.C. 20523-1602, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax No.: (703) 875-4009 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 the proposed installation of three fiber optic telecommunications links involving Jordan and Israel. The selected vendor is expected to work with the Jordan Rift Valley Telecommunications Steering Committee and selected officials within TCC (Jordan) and Bezeq (Israel) in researching and writing the three required technical and business planning reports. Depending upon the outcome of the three technical and business reports, the consultant team will be required to assist securing funding for one, two or three of the projects or they will be required to produce a fourth report, outlining recommendations and conditions for the successful implementation of alternate telecommunications project planning scenarios. The selected vendor shall provide telecommunications research, analytic and planning activities and produce a technical and business plan for each of the three (3) distinct projects under review. Within each project, particular attention must be paid to quantifying benefits for both Jordan and Israel and to identifying management and operational techniques to ensure the profitable and viable implementation of each project. Particular attention must be paid to Jordanian and Israeli management and operational guidelines and to specific environmental concerns as outlined by project. In addition, one member of the consultant team will be required to return to the region to (a) travel with select members (or their designated representatives) to worldwide financial institutions to seek funding for the project(s) or (b) produce and deliver a separate report to the Jordan Rift Valley Telecom Working Group, outlining why any of the projects may not produce a viable business plan. Specific actions and deliverables regarding each of the six Feasibility Study tasks are identified within the U.S. Trade and Development Agencys January 1996 Jordan Rift Valley Telecommunications Definitional Mission Report. The criteria have been tailored to the requirements of this particular solicitation. Offerors should note that these criteria (a) serve as the standard against which all technical proposals will be evaluated (b) serve to identify the significant matters which offerors should address in their technical proposals, and (c) will constitute 100% of the total technical evaluation criteria. Proposals will be competitively evaluated and scored as follows: (1) Hands-on experience assessing international telecommunications infrastructures and planning telecommunications projects from both a technical and business perspective (up to 40%); (2) Experience working in the Middle East, with at least one team member showing expertise and/or experience working with regional policy and commercial issues (up to 20%); (3) Experience securing financing for international telecommunications projects (up to 20%); (4) Experience in the design of transmission systems for national and international telecommunications (up to 20%). Additional areas of expertise and/or experience will be considered as noted in other areas of this RFP. The project staff are required to coordinate their work with Jordanian and Israeli personnel for all project activities, to socialize their ideas and draft report with the Jordan Rift Valley Telecom Steering Committee and their suggested support organizations and to obtain written approvals of their completed study report. Additional details regarding the coordination of the Feasibility Study are outlined in the aforementioned Definitional Mission report. Offerors should be aware that the firm contracted to conduct this feasibility study may not pursue any follow-on activities directly related to this study. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $509,000 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 Room 309, SA-16, Washington, D.C. 20523-1621. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA at 703-875-4009. Please include your firms 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 a courier delivery service should include the name of the courier company and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. No telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. 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 Jordan and Israel for a combined total of 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. 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. (0130)

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