B -- UNDERGROUND FUEL STORAGE TANK SYSTEMS PROJECT IN THE STATE OF SYO PAULO

Notice Date

December 18, 2000

Contracting Office

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

ZIP Code

22209-2131

Response Due

February 5, 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 Companhia de Tecnologia de Saneamento Ambiental ("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 perform technical assistance for the Grantee related to the underground fuel storage tank systems (USTs) in the State of S o Paulo. The State of S o Paulo represents about 25% of the national total, or 7,000 service stations, with 2,000 in the City of S o Paulo alone. The national inventory of USTs is estimated to be in the range of 30,000 -- 35,000 when wholesale fuel distribution centers, motor pool refueling centers, refineries and industrial installations are included. Leaking underground fuel storage tanks are a problem across Brazil. The National Environmental Council (CONAMA), the federal environmental agency is chairing a public-private sector interagency working group that is developing a CONAMA draft resolution which, when promulgated, will authorize state and local government agencies to develop environmental licensing legislation to regulate UST design, installation, operation and safety. The Grantee, the environmental protection agency for the State of S o Paulo, requested the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA) funding for a study to develop strategies and action plans to control and remediate environmental liabilities (soil and groundwater contamination); to upgrade installations, operations, and maintenance procedures for existing and new installations; to define operator training programs; and to make recommendations with respect to legislation and technical standards. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $425,000 grant to the Grantee from TDA. The technical assistance has been estimated by TDA to cost U.S. $471,333. The TDA Grant funding of U.S. $425,000 will cover only a portion of that amount. The Contractor and/or its subcontractors must cover whatever cost is necessary to complete the Terms of Reference (TOR). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the TOR, and a background definitional mission 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 Portuguese and English directly to the Grantee by 5:00p.m. on February 5, 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. 20001220/BSOL007.HTM (W-353 SN5091D3)