Invitation for Bids (Re-bid)

Date	:	19 September 2008
Grant No.	:	0081-AFG: Road Network Development Project 1
Contract No. and Title	:	(1) MPW/800/ADB/CON-1: Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of 53 km of road from Bala Murgab (km 253+00) to Dari Bum (km 200+00) (Package-1) (2) MPW/800/ADB/CON -2: Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of 45 km of road from Dari Bum (km 200+00) to Qala Naw (km 155+00) (Package-2) (3) MPW/800/ADB/CON-3: Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of 45 km of road from Qala Naw (155+00) to Leman (km 110+00) (Package-3
Date	:	6 October 2008, 14:00 Hours

1.    The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has received a Grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) towards the cost of constructing the Bala Murghab to Leman section of Ring Road. Part of this Grant will be used for payments under the Contracts named above. Bidding is open to bidders from eligible source countries of Asian Development Bank (ADB).

2.    Afghan Reconstruction and Development Services (ARDS) on behalf of Ministry of Public Works (MPW) of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (the Employer), invites sealed bids from eligible Bidders for the above contracts. The scope of works includes design of all roads, bridges and miscellaneous works in addition to Construction of the project road. The feasibility study from Herat-Bala Murghab (which includes Package- I, Package-II and Package -III) has been carried out by Consultants Getinsa (Gabinets De Estudios Technicos Ingeneria S.A) in association with Sheladia Associates Inc. USA. The same has been updated under ADB TA-4852-AFG and submitted in March 2007 and is available for ready reference in the Ministry of Public Works.

3.    The bidders, at their option, may bid for one or more package(s). Each package will be evaluated separately and also by combining them taking into account any discount offered for any combination of packages, provided those discounts are included in the Letter of Bid; and the contracts will be awarded accordingly. The employer reserves right to award contract for multiple packages to bidder that offers the lowest evaluated combination of bids.

4.    Bidders may submit alternative bids based on sectional completion, the sections to be determined at the bidder's discretion in sections of not less than 15km acceptable to the Employer. The successful bidder will be expected to complete the construction works within 1,095 days from the date of commencement of work.

5.    International competitive bidding will be conducted in accordance with ADB's Single-Stage: Two-Envelope Bidding Procedure and is open to all Bidders from eligible source countries of ADB.

6.    The contract Price shall be adjusted for Changes in Cost as per clause 13.8 of GCC and of Particular conditions of Contract.

7.    Bidders' qualifications will be examined as part of the bid evaluation. Bidders must meet the following minimum requirements:

A.     Financial

1. The Bidder shall have an average annual construction turnover (calculated as total certified payments received for contracts in progress or completed) over the last three years of at least US$ 12 million for Con-1, US$ 10 million for Con-2 and US$ 10 million for Con-3. If the bidder wishes to qualify for award of the contract for more than one package, then the bidder must demonstrate to meet the aggregate of qualifying criteria mentioned for the individual packages.
2. The bidder must demonstrate access to, or availability of, financial resources such as liquid assets, line of credit, and other financial means, other than any contractual advance payment to meet (i) cash flow requirement of US$ 4.5 million for Con-1, US$ 3.5 million for Con-2 and US$ 3.5 million for Con-3 and (ii) the overall cash flow requirement for this contract and its current work commitment. If the bidder wishes to qualify for award of the contract for more than one package, then the bidder must demonstrate to meet the aggregate of qualifying criteria mentioned for the individual packages.

B.   Experience

1. the Bidder shall have participated as prime contractor, management contractor or sub-contractor in at least 1 (one) road contract combined with bridge construction within the last ten years, each with a value of at least US$ 15 million for Con-1, US$ 11 million for Con-2 and US$ 11 million for Con-3 that have been successfully or substantially completed and that are similar in nature and complexity to the proposed works;
2. the Bidder, either in-house or under a subcontract or through joint venture with a design engineering firm, shall have successful experience as a designer of at least two roads combined with bridge reconstruction and rehabilitation projects within the last five years that are similar in nature and complexity to the proposed contract. Each of the design projects should have had a fee of at least US$ 1.0 million for Con-1, US$ 0.8 million for Con-2 and US$ 0.8 million for Con-3 and should have included road topographical survey and detailed design of road pavement, and bridges.

C.    Litigation

1. the Bidder shall provide accurate information on any litigation or arbitration resulting from contracts completed or under execution by it over the last six years. Claims, arbitration or other litigation proceedings pending, with a possible impact of more than 50 per cent of the Bidder's net worth shall be a ground for declaring the Bidder not qualified for the award of the contract.

D.    Personnel

Personnel for Construction: The bidder must demonstrate that it has the personnel for the key positions that meet the following requirements for each of the packages:

No.	Position	Total Work Experience	Experience In Similar Work [years]
1	Project Manager cum Highway Engineer	15 years	10
2	Pavement Engineer	10 years	8
3	Bridge Engineer	10 years	8
4	Equipment Engineer	10 years	8
5	Environment Protection Manager	10 years	5

Personnel for Design: The Bidder must demonstrate that it has the personnel for the key positions that meet the following requirement for each of the packages:

No.	Position	Total Work Experience	Experience In Similar Work [years]
1	Design Team Leader	15 years	10
2	Pavement Engineer	10 years	8
3	Bridge Engineer	10 years	8
4	Materials Engineer	10 years	8
5	Quantity Engineer	10 years	8

If the bidder wishes to qualify for more than one package, then the bidder must demonstrate having separate teams of above personnel construction and design for the individual packages. The Bidder shall provide details of the proposed personnel and their experience records in the relevant Information Forms included in Section 4 (Bidding Forms). The Bidder shall propose one person for one role.

E.    Equipment

The Bidder must demonstrate that it owns, leases or has immediate access to, in the event of a contract award in its favor, the key equipments listed hereafter for each of the packages:

No.	Equipment Type and Characteristics	Min. Number Required
1	Asphalt Mixing Plant 125 Ton/Hr	1
2	Asphalt Paver -7.5m	1
3	Stone Crusher 200ton/Hr	1
4	Stone Crusher 100 Ton/Hr	1
5	Dozar Capacity>40 Ton	1
6	Dozar Capacity> 20 Ton	1
7	Excavator Capacity>1.0m3	5
8	Motor Grader	5
9	Loader	8
10	Dumper (Trucks)	20
11	Vibratory Roller	5
12	Tandem Roller	3
13	Transit Concrete Mixer	4
14	Water Truck	3

If the bidder wishes to qualify for more than one package, then the bidder must demonstrate having separate sets of above essential equipments for the individual packages.

8.    To obtain further information and to inspect the Bidding Documents, bidders should contact:

Afghan Reconstruction and Development Services (ARDS)
Ministry of Economy, 4th and 5th Floor
Malik Asghar Square, Kabul, Afghanistan
Contact Persons: Anjani kumar / Masoud Qasime
Email: anjani.kumar@ards.org.af, massoud.qasime@ards.org.af or ards.procurement@ards.org.af

9.    A complete set of Bidding Documents in English, may be obtained by interested bidders by downloading the same from the ARDS website www.ards.org.af or may obtain in flash/CD from the ARDS office (address given above). In case of any difficulty in downloading from website, interested bidders may contact at email address ards.procurement@ards.org.af. Bidding Documents will be sent electronically.

10.    The Bid Validity Period shall be 120 days.

11.     All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security of US$ 900,000 for Con-1, US$ 700,000 for Con-2 and US$ 700,000 for Con-3 or equivalent amount in a freely convertible currency. Bid security shall remain valid for 28 days beyond the validity of bid or up to 148 days from the date of bid submission.

12.    Bid must be delivered:

• on or before 6 October 2008 at 14:00 Hrs. (Local Time). Late Bids will be rejected;
• at the address given above;
• electronic submission of bid is not permitted.

13.    Bids will be opened immediately after the deadline, at the address indicated below, in the presence of the Bidder's representatives.

Conference Rom
Afghanistan Reconstruction and Development Services
Ministry of Economy Building
4th Floor Malik Asghar Square
Kabul, Afghanistan

14.    When comparing Bids, ADB's Domestic Preference Scheme will be applied in accordance with the provisions stipulated in the Bidding Documents.

Specific Notice