WORKS PROCUREMENT NOTICE

construction of the access road to strumiani – berovo border crossing between bulgaria and fyrom

Republic of Bulgaria

1. Publication reference

EuropeAid/120729/D/W/BG

2. Procedure

Open Tender

3. Programme

PHARE

4. Financing

Financing Memorandum 2003/000-632.01 Phare External Border Initiative Programme in Bulgaria and Bulgarian National Budget

5. Contracting Authority

Contracting Authority – Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works

Beneficiary Institution – Road Executive Agency

CONTRACT SPECIFICATIONS

6.  Description of the contract

The proposed project consists of rehabilitation and new construction of approx. 30 km third class road as follows:

§  Rehabilitation of 15 km of the existing road III-1008, starting from Road E-79, Sofia – Kulata at Strumiani village, km 0+000, and continuous in west direction up to km 15+398;

§  Construction of 15 km of new road, which is continuation of the existing road, from km 15+398, passing through mountainous terrain and ends at the Border with the Republic of Macedonia.

The constructed section will help to reduce the isolation and to encourage economic development of border regions; will facilitate the traffic flow between Bulgaria and Macedonia through the new BCCP Strumiani-Berovo. The road will permit a design speed of 30 km/h, will have width of 6/9 m and a pavement structure according to the requirements of the expected traffic. One big structure, two road junctions and number of small structures will be rehabilitated. Three retaining walls and number of small structures are envisaged for new construction. The road rehabilitation and new construction include also surface water drainage works, road markings, new traffic signs and landscaping. The contract will be awarded under PRAG rules and FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction will be followed. The Works Contractor shall also follow the requirements of the Bulgarian legislation, especially the Territorial Structures Act and the related regulations.

7. Number and titles of Lots

N/A

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

8. Eligibility and rules of origin

Participation is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons participating either individually or in a grouping (Consortium) of Tenderers of the Member States of the European Union and Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia-Montenegro. All goods provided for this contract must originate in these countries.

9. Grounds for exclusion

Tenderers must submit a statement to the effect that they are not in any of the situations listed in point 2.3.3 of the Practical guide to contract procedures financed by the general budget of the European Communities in the context of external actions.

10. Number of Tenders

Tenderers (including firms within the same legal group, other members of the same Consortium, and sub-contractors) may submit only one Tender. Tenders for parts of the project will not be considered. Tenderers may not submit a tender for a variant solution in addition to their tender for the works required in the Tender Dossier.

11. Tender Guarantee

Tenderers must provide a Tender Guarantee amounting to one and a half (1.5) percent of the Tender Price in EUR (as stated in p.3.3 of Tender Form) when submitting their Tender. This guarantee will be released to unsuccessful Tenderers once the Tender procedure has been completed and to the successful Tenderer upon signature of the contract by all parties.

12. Performance guarantee

The successful Tenderer will be asked to provide a Performance Guarantee of 10% of the amount of the contract at the signing of the contract. This guarantee must be provided no later than 30 days after the Tenderer receives the contract signed by the Contracting Authority. If the selected Tenderer fails to provide such a guarantee within this period, the contract will be void and a new contract may be drawn up and sent to the Tenderer which has submitted the second best admissible tender.

13. Information meeting and/or site visit

A mandatory information meeting will be held on 19 May 2005, 10:00 a.m. at the offices of REA as detailed below:

Road Executive Agency,

3 Macedonia blvd., 7 floor, room 702

1606 Sofia, Bulgaria

14. Tender validity

Tenders must remain valid for a period of 90 days after the deadline for submission of Tenders.

15. Period of execution

Provisional time for completion of works – 20 calendar months plus 12 months Defects Notification Period and 5 months for Final Payment.

SELECTION AND AWARD CRITERIA

16. Selection criteria

A.  For sole Tenderer:

1) General

The Tenderer must be a firm or a natural person duly registered as per the national law and/or accordingly authorized to carry out the works specified under this contract.

2) Economic and Financial Standing of Tenderer(s):

a.  The Annual Turnover (net of taxes and social security charges) of the Tenderer must be at least MEUR 7 for each of the years 2001, 2002 and 2003.

b.  Sufficient liquid working capital for financing the works. The Tenderer shall provide evidence of secured financing of not less than MEUR 1.2 in form of cash at hand, secured irrevocable credit line granted by a reputable bank or other acceptable form of funds.

NOTE: The Tenderer should present the following proofs of Economic and Financial Capacity:

- Balance Sheets for the last three years for which accounts have been closed;

- Statement of accounts (Profit and Loss Account) showing the turnover during the last three financial years;

- Reference/certificate demonstrating the access to credit facilities and/or cash available for the purpose of this project.

3)  Technical and Professional capacity of Tenderer(s):

a. The Tenderer shall have successfully completed at least 2 (two) projects with a minimum value of M€ 4 each. The projects should be of similar nature as the Tendered Works i.e. one project for road construction/reconstruction with linear length of at least 15 km and one project for road rehabilitation with linear length of at least 15 km. The works shall have been completed since 1.01.1999. The Tenderer must have provided at least 40 % (by value) of the works and supplies of the completed projects directly (not through a sub-contractor or as a consortium partner). The Tenderer must submit copies of the respective certificates of final reception signed by the Engineer/Employer of these reference projects within his Tender.

b.  All proposed Key Personnel shall have adequate experience and proven qualifications relevant to their position and the works of a similar nature to this project, as follows:

·  for Project Director (home office) - 12 years of total experience (after graduation) as civil engineer of which 8 years of experience in road construction works

·  for Project Manager - 10 years of total experience (after graduation) as civil engineer of which 5 years of experience in road construction works.

·  for the key staff (Deputy Project Manager; Quality Assurance Manager; Plant Manager; Materials Engineer; Measurement Engineer) - 10 years experience as civil engineers in road construction works

·  for the other professional staff (Survey Engineer; Superintendents; Health and Safety Officer) - 5 years relevant experience.

c. The Tenderer must have the plant and equipment (either owned or leased/hired), necessary to enable him to carry out at least 70% of the contract by himself.

d. The Tenderer must prove that it has accomplished over the last 3 years (2002, 2003 and 2004) as a minimum the following works:

-  For earthworks (excavation and fill) the total volume should be at least 200 000 m3.

-  For asphalt mixes (including base and surfacing layers) the total quantity executed should be at least 50 000 tones;

B. For Consortium/Joint Venture:

1) General

All partners in the Joint-Venture/Consortium must be firms or natural persons duly registered as per the national law and/or accordingly authorized to carry out the works specified under this contract.

2) Economic and Financial Standing of Tenderer(s):

a. The Lead Partner must have Annual Turnover (net of taxes and social security charges) of at least MEUR 3,5 for each of the years 2001, 2002 and 2003, and all the other members of the Joint Venture/Consortium together must have Annual Turnover (net of taxes and social security charges) of at least MEUR 3,5 for each of the years 2001, 2002 and 2003.

b. Sufficient liquid working capital for financing the works. The lead partner of a Consortium/Joint Venture) shall provide evidence of secured financing of not less than MEUR 1.2 in form of cash at hand, secured irrevocable credit line granted by a reputable bank or other acceptable form of funds.

NOTE: All members of the Consortium/Joint Venture) should present the following proofs of Economic and Financial Capacity:

- Balance Sheets for the last three years for which accounts have been closed;

- Statement of accounts (Profit and Loss Account) showing the turnover during the last three financial years;

- Reference/certificate demonstrating the access to credit facilities and/or cash available for the purpose of this project.

3) Technical and Professional capacity of Tenderer(s)

a. In total, the members of the Consortium/Joint Venture shall have successfully completed at least 2 (two) projects with a minimum value of M€ 3.5 each. The projects should be of similar nature as the Tendered Works i.e. one project for road construction/reconstruction with linear length of at least 15 km and one project for road rehabilitation with linear length of at least 15 km. The works shall have been completed since 1.01.1999. The respective member of the Consortium/Joint Venture must have provided at least 40 % (by value) of the works and supplies of the completed projects directly (not through a sub-contractor or as a consortium partner). The respective member of the Consortium/Joint Venture must submit copies of the respective certificates of final reception signed by the Engineer/Employer of these reference projects within his Tender. The Lead Partner shall have completed at leas 1 (one) of the above-mentioned reference projects.

b.  All proposed Key Personnel shall have adequate experience and proven qualifications relevant to their position and the works of a similar nature to this project, as follows:

·  for Project Director (home office) - 12 years of total experience (after graduation) as civil engineer of which 8 years of experience in road construction works

·  for Project Manager - 10 years of total experience (after graduation) as civil engineer of which 5 years of experience in road construction works.

·  for the key staff (Deputy Project Manager; Quality Assurance Manager; Plant Manager; Materials Engineer; Measurement Engineer) - 10 years experience as civil engineers in road construction works

·  for the other professional staff (Survey Engineer; Superintendents; Health and Safety Officer) - 5 years relevant experience.

c. The Tenderer must have the plant and equipment (either owned or leased/hired), necessary to enable him to carry out at least 70% of the contract by himself. The lead partner must have the plant and equipment (either owned or leased/hired), necessary to enable him to carry out at least 50% of the contract by himself. Any partner in a Joint Venture/Consortium (i.e. not the Lead Partner) must have the plant and equipment (either owned or leased/hired), necessary to enable him to carry out at least 10% of the contract by himself.

d. The members of the Consortium/Joint Venture must prove that in total they have accomplished over the last 3 years (2002, 2003 and 2004) as a minimum the following works:

-  For earthworks (excavation and fill) the total volume should be at least 200 000 m3.

-  For asphalt mixes (including base and surfacing layers) the total quantity executed should be at least 50 000 tones;

17. Award criteria

Price

TENDERING

18. How to obtain the Tender Dossier

The Tender Dossier is available from

The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works,

17-19, Kiril i Metodii Str.1202 Sofia, Bulgaria,

attn. Mrs. Tsvetomira Latcheva, Deputy PAO Phare CBC, 6th floor

upon payment of EUR 200, which excludes courier delivery. It is also available for inspection at the premises of the Contracting Authority.

The bank account to which payment should be done is:

Bank Account: 30 001 663 00

BIN: 6301301124

Bulgarian National Bank

1, Batemberg Sq., Sofia

Bank code 66196611

Account Holder: MRDPW

Tenders must be submitted using the standard Tender Form included in the Tender Dossier, whose format and instructions must be strictly observed.

Tenderers with questions regarding this Tender should send them in writing to:

Road Executive Agency,

3 Macedonia blvd., 1606 Sofia, Bulgaria

Attn. Head of REA CBC PIU

Fax: 00359(2) 952 61 37

Email:

with a copy to:

The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works,

17-19, Kiril i Metodii Str.1202 Sofia, Bulgaria,

Attn. Mrs. Tsvetomira Latcheva, Deputy PAO Phare CBC, 6th floor

Tel/Fax: + 359 2 987 07 37

Email:

mentioning the publication reference shown in Item 1, at least 21 days before the deadline for submission of tenders given in Item 19. The Contracting Authority must reply to all Tenderers' questions at least 11 days before the deadline for submission of tenders.

19. Deadline for submission of Tenders

Tenders must be received not later than 30 June 2005, 12:00 local time at the address:

Road Executive Agency

3, Macedonia Blvd.,

1606 Sofia, Bulgaria

Attn. Head of REA CBC PIU, Room 805a, 8th floor

The Deadline for submission of Tenders must be combined with the public opening.

Any Tender received after this deadline will not be considered.

20. Tender opening session

Tenders will be opened in public session on 30 June 2005, 14.00 p.m. local time at the following address:

Road Executive Agency

3, Macedonia Blvd.

1606 Sofia, Bulgaria

Room 702, 7th floor

21. Legal basis

Council regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 of 18 December 1989 on economic aid to certain countries of Central and Eastern Europe and No 2698/90 of 17 September 1990 and No 2500/2001 of December 17, 2001 and 769/2004 of 21 April 2004 as amended.