Millenium Challenge Account - Moldova: Specific Procurement Notice

Millenium Challenge Account - Moldova: Specific Procurement Notice

• 02.08.2013

MILLENNIUM CHLLENGE ACCOUNT – MOLDOVA

SPECIFIC PROCUREMENT NOTICE

CONSTRUCTION WORKS FOR THE REHABILITATION OF CENTRALIZED IRRIGATION SYSTEMS ALONG UPPER PRUT RIVER (CIS ‘BLINDESTI’, CIS ‘GROZESTI’ & CIS ‘LEOVA’)

IFB Ref: PP6/THVAP/W/CB/04 

1. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (“MCC”) and the Government of Moldova (the “Government” or “GoM”) have entered into a Millennium Challenge Compact for Millennium Challenge Account assistance to help facilitate poverty reduction through economic growth in Republic of Moldova (the “Compact”) in the amount of approximately 262,000,000 USD (“MCC Funding”). The Government, acting through the Millennium Challenge Account – Moldova (“MCA-Moldova” or “Employer”), intends to apply a portion of the MCC Funding to eligible payments under a contract associated with this Invitation for Bids (“IFB”). Payments by the Employer will be subject, in all respects, to the terms and conditions, including restrictions on the use of MCC Funding, of the Compact. No party other than the Government and the Employer shall derive any rights from the Compact or have any claim to the proceeds of MCC Funding.

2. The goal of a Compact would be to reduce poverty through economic growth. The Compact contains the following components:

• Road Rehabilitation Project (RRP). The project would improve profitability and marketability of goods carried on the roads, improve access to social services among communities serviced by the roads, and improve road safety. The proposed project comprises the rehabilitation of existing paved four-lane roads.
• Transition to High Value-added Agriculture (THVA) Project. The project objective is to increase incomes in rural agricultural communities through transition to higher value-added production through rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure, radical changes to its management, and increased access to finance, training, and market information, beneficiaries will transition to more intensive and varied crop production and better marketing of the production.

3. This IFB follows the General Procurement Notice that appeared in UNDB Online and dgMarket on October 15, 2012, the local newspapers Monitorul Oficiel and Economicheskoe Obozrenie on October 19, 2012, and was posted on the MCA-Moldova website http://www.mca.gov.md/en/General-procurements-notice.html on October 15, 2012.

4. The Employer now invites sealed bids (“Bids”) from eligible Bidders for the execution and completion of the Construction Works for the Rehabilitation of Centralized Irrigation Systems (CISs) along Upper Prut River (CIS ‘Blindesti’, CIS ‘Grozesti’ & CIS ‘Leova’), which is being offered as unit price contract based on Bill of Quantities.

The Works for the rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure include (i) new constructions, repairs and reconstruction of the existing facilities of pumping stations, including replacement of electro-mechanical equipment; (ii) installation of new suction pipes and fish protection structures; (iii) total and partial replacement of existing steel, reinforced-concrete, steel core and asbestos cement pipes with new steel and HDPE pipes; (iv) installation of new network fittings, manholes and appurtenant structures; (v) rehabilitation of water hammer protection systems; and (vi) installation of new electrical, control and automation systems and SCADA. The rehabilitation area, number of pump stations, and approximate total length of pipes for each CIS are as follows:

• CIS ‘Blindesti’:
  • rehabilitation area: about five hundred and eighty-seven (587) ha, and main pumping station and pipeline for an extension area of additional one thousand and forty-four (1,044) ha;
  • total length of pipes: about twenty-eight thousand nine hundred and twenty-three (28,923) m;
  • pump stations: three (3) pump stations with thirteen (13) main pumps.
• CIS ‘Grozesti’:
  • rehabilitation area: about one thousand and one hundred (1,100) ha;
  • total length of pipes: about forty-two thousand one hundred and seven (42,107) m;
  • pump stations: two (2) pump station with nine (9) main pumps.

• CIS ‘Leova’:
  • rehabilitation area: about nine hundred and eighty (980) ha;
  • total length of pipes: about thirty-two thousand nine hundred and forty-four (32,944) m;
  • pump stations: two (2) pump stations with nine (9) main pumps.

As a result of the THVA Project and the Irrigation Activities, up to eleven (11) CISs will be fully rehabilitated and their management (operations and maintenance) will be legally transferred to Water User Associations (WUAs) operating in those eleven (11) systems. More information about the THVA Project and description of the CISs covering a command area of up to approximately fifteen thousand and five hundred (15,500) ha may be found on MCA-Moldova web site at http://www.mca.gov.md/file/THVAP.pdf.

The Bidder to be awarded the Works Contract for which this IFB is issued will be eligible for contract award for the next Works Contract – #PP6/THVAP/W/CB/05 “Rehabilitation Works for Lower Prut CISs (CIS ‘Cahul’ and CIS ‘Chircani-Zirnesti’)”, to be procured as single Works Contract in the following months, likely under the modality of Design/Build (D/B) based of FIDIC Conditions of Contract (Yellow Book).

5. Bidding will only be open to registered Bidders. Bidders may register by completing a Registration Form available on the Employer’s web site at http://mca.gov.md/upload/files/CISRA/IFB/Registration-Form-Works-Upper-Prut-River-CISs.doc and sending it in PDF format to the Procurement Agent’s e-mail address indicated below with the following in the subject line: “IFB #W/CB/04 – Construction Works for the Rehabilitation of CISs along Upper Prut River – Request for Registration”. Bidders must inform with the same form whether they will submit a Bid alone or in association.

The purpose of the registration is to facilitate uniform and timely distribution of relevant information such as responses to requests for clarification and any amendments. Registration will be completed when a potential Bidder receives a registration number from the Procurement Agent. Bids submitted by Bidders that have not registered will not be entertained and will be returned unopened to the Bidders.

The title and address of the Employer’s Procurement Agent is as follows:

Booz Allen Hamilton
Procurement Agent for MCA-Moldova
Attention: Roumen Tarkalanov, Procurement Agent Manager
Cc: Giorgi Tvalavadze, Senior Procurement Expert
Levan Kalandarishvili, Procurement Expert
International Business Center “Skytower”
10th floor, Office D
63, Vlaicu Parcalab Str.
Chisinau MD-2012, Moldova
Facsimile: +373 22 815-850
Email: r.tarkalanov@premium-bg.com
             tvalavadze_giorgi@bah.com
             Kalandarishvili_Levan@bah.com
             Armasaru_Vadim@bah.com

6. A firm will be selected under the Competitive Bidding procedures described in this IFB. Bidders are advised that these procedures are governed by the MCC Program Procurement Guidelines, which are provided on the MCC website at http://www.mcc.gov/pages/business/guidelines. Although these procedures are similar to those set out in the World Bank Guidelines: Procurement under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits, there are several significant differences and firms are advised to review these instructions carefully.

7. The complete set of Bidding Documents (excluding Section V, ‘General Conditions of Contract’) is available for download free of charge on the website of the Employer as follows:
IFB-PP6-THVAP-W-CB-04-Works-on-Upper-Prut-River-CISs-Section I-to-Section VII
IFB-PP6-THVAP-W-CB-04-Works-on-Upper-Prut-River-CISs-Section-VIII-BOQ
IFB-PP6-THVAP-W-CB-04-Works-on-Upper-Prut-River-CISs-Section-IX-Specifications
IFB-PP6-THVAP-W-CB-04-Works-on-Upper-Prut-River-CISs-Section-X-ESMP-Blindesti
IFB-PP6-THVAP-W-CB-04-Works-on-Upper-Prut-River-CISs-Section-X-ESMP-Grozesti
IFB-PP6-THVAP-W-CB-04-Works-on-Upper-Prut-River-CISs-Section-X-ESMP-Leova
IFB-PP6-THVAP-W-CB-04-Works-on-Upper-Prut-River-CISs-Section-XI-Drawings-Blindesti
IFB-PP6-THVAP-W-CB-04-Works-on-Upper-Prut-River-CISs-Section-XI-Drawings-Grozesti
IFB-PP6-THVAP-W-CB-04-Works-on-Upper-Prut-River-CISs-Section-XI-Drawings-Leova
from the issuance date of this Invitation for Bids, allowing prospective Bidders to review the documents before taking a decision to register and submit a bid. Only Bidders registered for participation in the bidding in accordance with the procedure specified in paragraph 5 above shall be provided by the Procurement Agent with Section V, consisting of FIDIC Conditions of Contract.

8. A site visit will be organized. The muster for the site visit is at 07:45 a.m. Moldova time on August 14, 2013 at the following address:

Hotel “Codru”
127, 31st August 1989 Str.
Chisinau, Moldova

A pre-bid meeting will be held at 10:00 am Moldova time on August 15, 2013 at the following address:

Millenium Challenge Account - Moldova
Conference Hall / 1st floor
21, Nicolae Iorga Str.
Chisinau, Moldova

Attendance is strongly advised for all prospective Bidders or their representatives but is not mandatory.

9. All Bids must be accompanied by a security in the form and amount specified in the Bidding Documents, and must be delivered to the address given below no later than 2:00 pm Moldova time on September 30, 2013.

International Business Center “Skytower”
10th floor, Office D
63, Vlaicu Parcalab Str.
Chisinau MD-2012, Moldova

Bidders should be aware that distance and customs formalities may require longer than expected delivery time. Late Bids will be rejected and returned unopened.

Bids will be opened immediately thereafter in the presence of representatives of registered Bidders who submitted Bids and who choose to attend at the following address:

International Business Center “Skytower”
Conference Hall / 11th floor
63, Vlaicu Parcalab Str.
Chisinau, Moldova