B -- MASPARRO RIVER HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECT

Notice Date

November 30, 2000

Contracting Office

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

ZIP Code

22209-2131

Response Due

January 15, 2001

Point of Contact

POC -- Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009

Description

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 evaluate the construction of a 25-MW generation station located at the base of the Masparro River Dam in Barinas state in Western Venezuela. CADAFE, the Venezuelan national power company, is involved in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity for two million customers (90 percent of which are residential users). CADAFE asked TDA to fund a feasibility study on a hydroelectric power plant in the southwestern state of Barinas, on the Masparro River. In 1988, a dam commissioned by the Ministry of Environment was completed on the Masaparro River. The Masparro Dam was built for flood control, irrigation and recreational purposes, and it was envisioned that a 25 MW power plant would eventually be constructed in order to utilize the potential energy the dammed waters represented. As the dam and part of the penstock are already in place, the investment required in civil works for the current project is substantially reduced. The scope of work for the project is as follows: Activity A Task I: Recommendation of preferred contracting arrangement (BOOT or other) Task II: Preparation of background analyses for CADAFE to negotiate the PPA Activity B Task I: Review existing documentation and prepare updated versions for the Masparro River project Task II: Recommend optimal interconnection arrangement for the Masparro River plant to the National Interconnected System Activity C Task I: Preparation of technical and other requirements for the bid and draft PPA The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $250,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). The Study has been estimated by TDA to cost U.S. $300,000. The TDA Grant funding of U.S. $250,000 will cover only a portion of that amount. The Contractor and/or its subcontractors must cover whatever cost is necessary to complete the full Terms of Reference. A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the TOR, and a background definitional mission 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 and Spanish directly to the Grantee by 4:00PM local Caracas time, January 15, 2001 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.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20001204/BSOL002.HTM (W-335 SN5077C8)