Sistema Administrador de Empresas/Corporacisn de Fomento de la Produccisn, Matias Cousiqo 150, 20 Piso, Santiago, Chile; Att: Manuel Rivera Mella, Exec Dir; Tel: 56-2-365-6400, Fax: 56-2-360-9016

B -- LOTA PORT INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN CHILE, PHASE I POC Ms. Evangela Kunene, USTDA, Room 300, 1621 N. Kent Street, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Telephone: (703) 875-4357, FAX: (703) 875-4009 The Sistema Administrador de Empresas (SAE)/Corporacisn de Fomento de la Produccisn (CORFO) ("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 Phase I of a feasibility study for the transformation of the current facilities at the Port of Lota into a multipurpose port that would address demand in Chile's central-southern region. SAE/CORFO is Chile's economic development agency and the public entity responsible for economic development and industrial promotion throughout Chile's 13 regions. It has been an effective program of the Chilean government for more than 40 years. The Port of Lota is currently owned by SAE/CORFO and is located in the city of Lota, in south-central Chile. The city of Lota was the site of one of Chile's most important coal mines, employing 4,000 Chileans. In 1996, SAE/CORFO decided to close the mine. Prior to closing the mine, SAE/CORFO initiated a development plan to attract investment and facilitate growth of non-mining industries in the region. Transformation of the Port of Lota, which previously had been used exclusively for the distribution and storage of coal, is central to the regional development plan. The objective of Phase I of the feasibility study is to develop a sound evaluation of the market potential for transforming the Port of Lota into a multipurpose port. Phase I of the feasibility study will include a commodity forecast and market analysis. The market demand analysis and commodity forecast will consider Chile's south-central region (Region VIII) and possible southwestern provinces of Argentina for 5, 10, and 15 year projections. The study requires that a comprehensive analysis of cargoes and container movements be used as the basis for facility planning and development. Phase I of the feasibility study will concentrate on the cargo analysis and a determination of the market potential and viability of new facilities at the Port of Lota. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $106,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). The total cost of Phase I of the Feasibility Study is estimated at U.S. $132,000. The Contractor and/or its subcontractors must cover the remaining costs, or U.S. $26,000, to complete the full Terms of Reference for Phase I of the Feasibility Study. 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'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 durationof 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 Spanish and English directly to the Grantee by 5:00pm local time, on June 4, 1999 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 04/16/99 (I-SN321398). (0106)

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