Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED) Rural Group 2 Activity

NOTICE TO INDUSTRY

The purpose of the change made on March 17, 2022 was to add the three attachments. All information remain the same.

PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE

Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED) Rural Group 2 Activity

SYNOPSIS:

This pre-solicitation notice informs interested offerors (bidders) about an anticipated opportunity to be published by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Malawi in coordination with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Government of Malawi-Ministry of Education. The solicitation opportunity is a Request for Proposal (RFP) for construction services to build 51 Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED) Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSSs) in rural communities across Malawi.

Interested offerors (bidders) must be registered with the Malawi National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) in the Unlimited registration category at the proposal submission closing date and time, to be eligible for award.  Bidders can form and register as a Joint Venture (JV) to enhance their eligibility for the NCIC unlimited category. There will be four lots in this solicitation.

The intended RFP release date is scheduled for March 2022. All information required for the submission of an offer will be contained in the electronic solicitation package that will be posted at https://sam.gov. Interested Offerors are advised to periodically monitor the above website for updates concerning this procurement.

For more information, interested offerors should plan to attend a pre-solicitation meeting to be announced in the near future. After the release of the RFP, USAID/Malawi will conduct a pre-bid conference and provide a Questions and Answers (Q&A) period before the bid submission date.  The RFP will be released for at least 30 days and offerors will prepare and submit a technical and cost proposal. In the proposal, offerors will identify key personnel, subcontractors, and vendors; develop organizational, management, and technical approach; compile construction equipment and machinery required for the work; prepare financial records and annual turnover; and compile past performance with references.

The project scope includes construction of fifty-one (51) CDSSs across eighteen (18) Education Districts throughout Malawi. Each CDSS will include two classroom blocks, a science classroom, admin space, student and teacher latrines, teacher housing with latrines, and a borehole with hand pump. The contracts will be divided into 4 Lots based on geographical areas.

The sites for the schools will be divided up into four Lots in two Groups as follows: 

• Group A : 2 large lots of 19-20 schools each
• Group B : 2 small lots of 6 schools each
• Group A Lots: The Contractor may bid on one or both of the Group A Lots. USAID may award Group A Lots to one or two separate offerors.
• Group B Lots: The Contractor may bid on one or both of the Group B Lots. USAID will award Group B Lots to two separate offerors. Only Malawian firms are eligible to bid on Group B Lots.

The construction period is expected to be 10 months, however the contractual period is 25 months (2 months for early deliverables, 1 month for mobilization, 10 months for construction, 12 months for warranty). The contracts will be made for a fixed price.

Interested offerors are encouraged to be registered at  https://sam.gov  which is a prerequisite to being awarded a U.S. government contract. This registration takes time, so it is best to begin early.  The registration is not required to bid, but it must be in place before an award can be made on the solicitation.

All questions about this upcoming solicitation should be held until the Q&A period during the solicitation phase.

This pre-solicitation notice does not obligate USAID/Malawi to release a solicitation or award a contract, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal.

[END OF PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE]