Questions

Clarifications Provided

1

Can letters of award be used in place of completion certificates for on-going projects?

Completed projects should have a certificate of completion or other equivalent documentation. Where requested, state the completed jobs and list the on-going ones. .

2

Can a contractor bid for 2 or 3 projects out of the 56 and if so can the required average annual turnover of 600million Naira be lowered accordingly?

No. This Tender is NOT divided into lots or parts. A bidder must bid for tender as a whole. The required minimum average annual turnover for 3 years (2007, 2008 and 2009) will not be lowered below 600 million naira nor can the cumulative volume of works during this period be less than 1.2billion naira as requested. Note that audited Financial statements will be required.

3

Are there locally available quarries where chippings and other required aggregates can be sourced?

The nearest quarry to Etung is off Akamkpa town about 220 kilometers from Etung.

4

Who will show the various sites to the successful contractor?

This will be done by the Contracting Authority (NPC) through the MPP9 LMU Team, to be assisted by the Project Implementation committee (PICs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs).

5

Information on the exact location of each of the 56 sites is required in order to bid correctly.

The Etung Local Management Unit (LMU) will provide the list of the 56 project sites on behalf of the Contracting Authority (NPC) and make them available to the contractors. Tenderers are reminded to see section 6.2 of TD where it is made clear that the contractors are obliged at their own costs and risks to visit the sites for the projects before bidding.

6

Can the tender be split into six lots to enable indigenous contractors in the Niger Delta meet entry requirements?

The tender is NOT divided into lots. This will not change.

7

Are non incorporated companies i.e. Companies with just Business names (e.g. an Enterprise) qualified to bid

Yes. See section 3.1 of TD.

8

Is there limit to the number of companies that can come together in a single consortium for this bid?

Lead member must have 50% capacity and other members must have minimum 10% capacity resulting in a maximum of 6 members.

9

Worries about quality of project sites, eg swamps and forests requiring excessive site preparation costs.

The communities have been placed under obligation to provide sites in reasonably level grounds, away from swamps and forests.

10

Requirement to submit contractors’ original company documents could paralyze other activities of the contractors.

Original company documents like incorporation certificate, VAT, Tax clearance etc are not required to be submitted with the bids. Photocopies or certified true copies are adequate. However tender guarantees, access to credit, tender form and declaration should be submitted in originals. There will be one original and five copies of the bids.

11

Must each member of a consortium satisfy the economic and technical requirements in the Tender Dossier?

The consortium will be evaluated as an entity and as an entity fulfill all the requirements of the tender dossier.  However, the lead member should have at least 50% of the requirements (equipment, materials, human and financial resources) necessary to carry out the contract while the other members of the consortium should have at least 10%.

12

Must all consortium members sign the tenderers' declaration?

Yes. Each member of the consortium should sign and stamp a separate declaration.

13

No soft copies of the Bills of Quantities are provided

Affected tenderers to be issued with the soft copies by the Contracting Authority as soon as possible after the clarification meeting.

14

What happens if a project site or sites are not accessible due to bad roads?

All parts of Etung LGA are accessible. Riverine communities are accessible immediately after crossing the river. For difficult roads or critical points, while communities are expected to improve such locations to facilitate movement and security, it remains the primary responsibility of the contractor to transport his/her equipment to the site.

15

CD included in the Tender Dossier purchased by a tenderer was blank.

Any purchased Blank CDs will be replaced immediately with the correct version by the Contracting Authority once notified.

16

What is the required validity of the Tender Guarantee?

The template should be strictly complied with or set at minimum of 365days validity for the tender guarantee from the date of the tender opening. Any reference to a minimum of 150 days is exceptional and not the ideal.

17

What happens to a tenderer who did not attend the site visit?

It is stated in the tender dossier that the site visit and information clarification meeting is mandatory and a certificate of attendance would be issued to those that were in attendance.

18

Web addresses included in the tender dossier, is it applicable?

It is for additional information. For instance, the link to financial identification form and legal entity form (Volume 1 section 4) should be accessed, duly completed and included in the tender dossier.

19

Will the Contracting Authority return the original tender guarantee to unsuccessful tenderers?

Yes. Please see article 15.4 of the instruction to tenderers.

20

In case of bad roads (force majeure) and meeting up with EU deadlines, will it be possible to extend the period of implementation of tasks?

Bad roads, raining season and similar predictable circumstances do not automatically constitute force majeure. Every effort should be made to manage them.  The contractor should put into consideration the upland and riverine area before preparing the BOQ.

21

Explain the blank pages of Vol. 1 of the Tender dossier.

The pages are templates with guided questions for tenderers to respond to. Please fill in or supply all requested information in these pages.

22

What is ACP?

African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.