USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131

R -- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE COSTA RICAN RAIL CONCESSION PROCESS DUE 113099 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 carry out technical assistance related to the Costa Rican Rail railroad concession process. The Government of Costa Rica plans to open an international public bid for a concession to operate, maintain and develop its railways. The government is studying the viability of offering separate concessions for the Atlantic and Pacific railways. The Atlantic railway would provide cargo service, primarily to Costa Rica's banana industry and the Pacific line, which serves the Puntarenas beach resort, would likely include passenger service. The Costa Rican Rail Institute (Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles-INCOFER) and the Technical Secretariat of the National Concessions Council are responsible for planning and executing the concession process. The Grantee is seeking technical assistance during the concession process, from the preparation of the prequalification criteria to the award and contract negotiation with selected bidder. The specific objectives of the technical assistance include: clearly defining the specific criteria to be used for the prequalification of bidders; specifying the key elements of the concession that will serve as the basis for publicizing the concession; establish the supporting information, related materials and database necessary for the concession; determine the criteria for the preparation and evaluation of the bids; identify the legal and technical components that could negatively affect the progress of the successful negotiation of the concession; recommend technical and financial criteria during the concession process; collaborate with other consultants to improve all of the concession documentation, including the contract, award, and signing. The specific tasks include: 1) Prequalification of Bidders; 2) Support in the Proposal Development Process; 3) Evaluation and Ranking ofProposals; 4) Contract Negotiation and Award. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $193,000 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 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 Spanish and English directly to the Grantee by 5:00PM on November 30, 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 10/21/99 (W-SN393867). (0294)

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