His Excellency Jose Amano Tati, Cabinda Provincial Governor, Cabinda, Provincial Government, Governor's Office, People's Republic of Angola, Tel: 244-31-22-401

B -- ANGOLA: CABINDA TELECOMMUNICATIONS FEASIBILITY STUDY POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 Angola: Cabinda Telecommunications 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 develop a feasibility study to 1) assess the system definition and integration components of a proposed intragovernment and rural telecommunications network and 2) design a pilot project telecommunications infrastructure project for Cabinda Province in Angola. Angola is a nation that possesses substantial potential for economic growth. The country's abundant oil and mineral wealth have made it an attractive market for foreign investment in Africa, despite its war-torn history. Cabinda Province, located in the northern region, is a major source of Angola's wealth. Much of the country's developed oil fields are off the Cabinda coast and represent a source of hard currency. The decades of internal strife has severely inhibited Angola's economic growth by destroying or rendering ineffective the county's basic infrastructure, including telecommunications. Seventy percent of Angola's 12 million people live in rural areas. At present, there are less than 35,000 lines in use within the capital of Luanda and only 23,000 lines are operational outside the city. The ratio of lines to population in Angola is roughly 0.7 per 100 people compared to South Africa's 9 per 100. Most international and local businesses in Angola rely on private networks, cellular phones or Inmarsat portable satellite phones for their communications needs. In Cabinda province, only those few local government officials and business people with close ties to the central government have reliable telecommunications. Even these links are dependent on Chevron's main satellite relay to be transmitted to Luanda or internationally. It is expected that this network will be developed through the application of a number of technologies and their integration into the country's existing network infrastructure. This project will be conducted in two phases. Phase 1, a system definition and integration study, will analyze (a) an intragovernment network in Cabinda Province and (b) the establishment of a rural telecommunications network. The tasks for Phase 1 include the following: 1. Characterize the flow within and between local, provincial and national government organizations, including officials throughout Cabinda Province. 2. Characterize the flow between Provincial government offices and the capital of Cabinda, particularly the Governor's office. 3.Characterize the flow between Provincial government offices and Luanda. 4.Characterize the flow between the Capital of Cabinda Province and Luanda. 5. Characterize border and customs control functions. 6. Characterize non-government communications applications and traffic. Including commercial, public safety, health, education (rural and urban), and public telephone traffic (intra and inter village, rural and urban). 7.Develop an inventory of existing telecommunications infrastructures. 8.Design an idealized telecommunication infrastructure for Cabinda Province. 9. Conduct an environmental assessment. Phase 2 involves the technical support, maintenance, training, and documentation of a pilot telecommunications infrastructure project for Cabinda. Phase 2 will involve the following tasks: 1.Design a pilot project for Cabinda (based on Phase 1 -- Item 3 above). 2.Develop a procurement specification for the pilot project. 3. Assist Cabinda in procuring, installing, and maintaining the pilot project. 4. Develop and implement a maintenance and operational training program. 5. Assess the performance of the project. 6. Develop a procurement specification for a fully operational system in Cabinda Province. 7. Identify privatization and infrastructure issues and help formulate a plan to resolve outstanding issues. If successful, Phase 2 will serve as a model for full implementation throughout Angola. The study has been estimated by TDA to cost US$527,000. In addition to theTDA grant funding of US$300,000 and the Grantee contribution of US$135,000, the Contractor and/or its subcontractors must cover the remaining costs required 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 definitional mission 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 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 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 and in Portuguese directly to the Grantee by 4:00 P.M., Friday, October 29, 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 09/10/99 (I-SN379013). (0253)

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