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

22 -- BULGARIA -- SUPPLY OF A CLEARANCE LASER SYSTEM FOR THE BULGARIAN STATE RAILWAYS DUE 082300 POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 Procurement of a Clearance Laser System for the Bulgarian State Railways. The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms that are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to supply a clearance laser system. As part of the South Balkan Development Initiative, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency has provided a grant of $300,000 to the Bulgarian State Railways towards the procurement of a clearance laser system. The system would scan, process and transfer information on each tunnel's and multilevel crossings' structural gauge, in the form of graphs and digital data. The system itself should consist of a laser beam unit linked to a personal computer, equipped with specially designed software. The system should be portable, easy to install and operate, and able to measure up to 30 meters (90 ft.) while scanning 270 degrees. The clearance laser system would be mounted to a surveying van equipped with a device to allow the vehicle to be driven along railroad tracks. A complete Invitation for Bids (IFB) is available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests 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 IFB 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 IFB. Firms that want to send a courier to TDA to retrieve the IFB should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the IFB will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of IFB requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for IFBs received before 4:00PM 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 IFB. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English to the Grantee in care of TDA by 4:00PM,August 23, 2000 at the above address and be accompanied by a security of five percent (5%) of the base bid price. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the IFB. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals. ***** Posted 07/18/00 (W-SN476250). (0200)

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