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

B -- ALBANIA -- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE EMERGENCY ROAD REPAIR PROJECT DUE 030600 POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, 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 provide technical assistance in the preparation of engineering design, bill of quantities, bid packages and bid documents for the second year of works for the Albania Emergency Road Repair Project (ERRP), to be financed by the Government of Albania and the World Bank. The Contractor for this technical assistance project will proceed to Tirana, Albania, with the purpose of providing technical assistance to Albania's General Roads Directorate (GRD). The ERRP consists of emergency repair works on two roads, from Tirana to Kukes-Morin (on the Kosovo border), and from Berat to Corovoda. Domestic roads works would be contracted through National Competitive Bidding (NCB). The Contractor will visit the sites of the proposed works, view the condition of the roads, and assist in proposing appropriate technical solutions detailing the recommended repairs. The Contractor will assist the GRD to define each of the proposed NCB repair works bid packages and verify the reasonableness of the budgeted amounts for each. The Contractor will provide advice and assistance to the GRD as required in their preparation of the bid documents for each bid package. The Contractor will cooperate closely with the GRD Maintenance Directorate and other technical services, as appropriate. The Contractor will assist GRD in expediting completion of the bidding documents to be sent to IDA for review by July 1, 2000. Specifically, the consultant shall immediately proceed to Tirana, Albania and, during the first few weeks; (1) review the first year bid documents, including the technical specifications, for clarity and consistency; (2) assist GRD in selection of second year design consultants; (3) assist GRD in selection of supervision consultants; (4) assist GRD in evaluation of first year bids received, and; (5) assist in outlining design priorities and design parameters for second year consultants, consistent with budget limitations. Following this period and through June 15, 2000, the consultant will provide a level of effort of twenty person days by spending two weeks in Tirana and two weeks in the consultant's home office monitoring and managing the progress and technical development of the second year bidding documents. Between June 15 and July 15, 2000 the consultant will proceed to Tirana to finalize all second year bidding documents, including technical specifications, contract and bid data sheets, bills of quantities, engineer's estimates, etc. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $70,000 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/desk study report are available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, 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 directly to the Grantee by 4:00PM, March 6, 2000 at the above address or fax number. 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 02/23/00 (W-SN427683). (0054)

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