Ing. Ra=FAl Paladines Bazurto, Gerente de Autoridad Portuaria de Manta, Autoridad Portuaria de Manta, Malecon sin numero, Manta, Ecuador, Phone:011-593-5-620-759 or 011-593-5-620-993, Fax:011-593-5-621-861

B -- PORT OF MANTA EXPANSION PROJECT -- ECUADOR POC POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (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 a port expansion project in Manta, Ecuador. Over the past several years, Ecuador has experienced a surge in export growth which requires an increase in shipping and cargo consolidation infrastructure. The increase in exports has strained shipping and transportation as a whole. From the year 1990, till today, exports have grown from U.S. $2.7 billion to $4.9 billion with the expectation of additional growth in 1998. Manta has been the principal port for cocoa and coffee exports, and is now turning to handle a more diversified line of items. The containerized Port of Guayaquil currently handles most of the country=92s imports and exports yet is over-utilized with a slow turnaround time of 5 days. Development of the Port of Manta would alleviate pressure on the Port of Guayaquil, by providing another location from which Ecuador receives imports and brings their own goods to market. First opened in 1966, the Port of Manta is located on the Pacific Ocean approximately 120 miles northwest of Guayaquil and 160 miles southwest of Quito. The proposed project would involve the extension of a jetty by 310m, the extension of a breakwater by 500M, and construction of a wharf of 310m and a 40,000m2 open storage area. The feasibility study will be comprised of the following components: 1.Commodity Forecasts and Market Analysis, 2. Analysis of Terminal Operations, 3. Conceptual Engineering, 4. Project Schedule and Financing, 5. Environmental Aspects, 6. Final Reports The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $300,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). The Feasibility Study is estimated to cost a total of U.S. $362,000. TDA has provided a grant of U.S. $300,000 to the Autoridad Portuaria de Manta. The selected U.S. firm will be responsiblefor ensuring that the selected U.S. firm and/or its subcontractors provide at least U.S. $62,000 of direct labor and/or other direct costs to complete the full Terms of Reference. 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 300, 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=92s 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 to20 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 p.m., Ecuadorian time, October 30, 1998 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. Posted 09/10/98 (I-SN248216). (0253)

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