mwh global & fiji roads authority proposed road maintenance contracts programme invitation

Fiji Roads Authority

Proposed Road Maintenance Contracts Programme

Invitation to Submit Statements of Interest and Ability Prepared for Fiji Roads Authority

Final - 19 May 2012


Proposed Road Maintenance Contracts Programme Invitation to Submit Statements of Interest and Ability (ISSIA)

80500081-FRA ISSIA Final 19May2012.doc - 2 - MWH

ADVERTISEMENT

FIJI ROADS AUTHORITY

PROPOSED ROAD MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS PROGRAMME

INVITATION TO SUBMIT STATEMENTS OF INTEREST AND ABILITY

Fiji Roads Authority (‘FRA’) intends to procure a programme of new term contracts for the future

maintenance of highways, local roads, bridges, jetties and related assets located throughout the Fiji

Islands.

FRA hereby extends invitations for Statements of Interest and Ability (‘ISSIA’) from suitably capable and

experienced road maintenance contractors.

FRA will only be considering tenders form experienced contractors who have registered their interest

and whom FRA considers best to meet the capability and experience criteria included in the ISSIA

document.

The ISSIA document includes preliminary details of the context, scope of works, extent of contracts, the

selection criteria and the expected timescale associated with the procurement process. Prospective

tenderers may obtain a copy by contacting FRA’s procurement consultant MWH at the following email

address: [email protected]

Prospective tenderers are to deliver the required statements to Fiji Roads Authority at the address

described in the ISSIA not later than 4pm on Tuesday 19 June 2012.

Any other enquiries regarding the contracts should be submitted only in writing to the undersigned.

Mr Bruce Buxton

Change Manager


(MWH New Zealand Ltd)


Proposed Road Maintenance Contracts Programme Invitation to Submit Statements of Interest and Ability (ISSIA)


CONTENTS

ADVERTISEMENT ........................................................................................................................ 2

A Procurement Process ............................................................................................................... 4

A1. Background ......................................................................................................................... 4

A2. Invitation ............................................................................................................................. 4

A3. Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 5

A4. Procurement Process ........................................................................................................... 5

A5. Scope of Maintenance Activities............................................................................................ 6

A6. Geographical Extent............................................................................................................. 8

A7. Optional Briefing Meeting ..................................................................................................... 9

A8. Requirements for Statements of Interest and Ability................................................................ 9

A9. Submission of Statements .................................................................................................. 10

A10. Evaluation of Statements .................................................................................................... 12

B Information Required in Statements ......................................................................................... 13

B1. General Information on Respondent .................................................................................... 14

B2. Financial Information .......................................................................................................... 15

B3. Resource Information ......................................................................................................... 16

B4. Road Maintenance Contract Experience .............................................................................. 17

B5. Institutional Strengthening and Skills Upgrading ................................................................... 18

B6. Undertakings by Respondent .............................................................................................. 19

Revision Status Prepared Reviewed Authorised Date

First Draft Andrew Brickell Adam Jackson - 10 April 2012

Second Draft Andrew Brickell Bruce Buxton - 24 April 2012

Third Draft Andrew Brickell Senileba Lavaci,

for Solicitor General

- 30 April 2012

Final

Andrew Brickell

Bruce Buxton

B Buxton

15 May 2012

Minor revision

to Advertisement

Andrew Brickell A Brickell 19 May 2012

Fiji Roads Authority Proposed Road Maintenance Contracts Programme

Invitation to Submit Statements of Interest and Ability (ISSIA)


A Procurement Process

A1. Background

Fiji’s public road network is approximately 10,000km in length. The road network has been

progressively extended and upgraded, mostly under publicly financed programmes, some of

which have been supported by funding from multinational sources.

Maintenance of these roads has been managed by the former Department of National Roads,

municipal councils, other government ministries and in some case the private sector.

Improvements have included the upgrading of gravel surfaces to seal, widen and improve

alignments, but maintentance has not kept up with traffic growth, vehicle loads, weathering and

ageing, so a rehabilitation backlog has built up.1 A new Fiji Roads Authority (‘FRA’ or the

‘Authority’) has been established to address this and other needs.

A2. Invitation

FRA intends to upgrade its asset management and level of service delivery to customers. As

part of this process, it intends to procure several new term contracts for maintenance of

highways and other local roads systems throughout the Fiji Islands. Each contract’s term may

be from 3 to 5 years in duration, with the possibility of further extensions.

As part of the procurement process for these contracts, it is FRA’s intention to invite for tenders

from a selected list of prospective contractors who have best demonstrated their capability.

Potential contractors with appropriate skills, experience, track record and resources are invited

to register their interest by submitting details of this capability.

This Invitation to submit Statements of Interest and Ability (‘ISSIA’) is an early stage of the

proposed procurement process. More specific information will be sought in later stages

including tender prices. All of this information may then be considered in tender evaluation.

This ISSIA briefly describes the context of the proposed contracts, the selection criteria and

invites interested contractors and consortia (‘Respondents’) to submit their Statements of

Interest and Ability containing details of their capabilities and relevant experience. These

Statements will be evaluated by FRA when compiling a selected list of those who may be

invited to tender for the proposed contracts.

1 Asian Development Bank (2009)

Fiji National Transport Sector Plan Update – National Land Transport Subsector Plan




The information provided in this ISSIA is preliminary in nature and is expected to be

superseded by a Request for Tenders (‘RFT’) document. Any such information is offered for

guidance of prospective tenderers, but it is subject to change, so no warranty is given as to

accuracy or completeness.

The ISSIA is not intended to be a RFT document, nor to create an obligation to conduct the

procurement process in a particular manner or to enter into a contract at all. FRA reserves the

right to alter or terminate the procurement process at any stage without incurring any liability to

any party.

A3. Objectives

Through the tender process, FRA seeks to choose contractors who will deliver the required

services and performance and will assist FRA in improving the levels of service provided to

road users in Fiji.

The proposed maintenance contracts are intended to achieve:

(a) the implementation of the best practicable and most cost effective option for carrying

out road and other asset maintenance activities,

(b) the transfer of maintenance responsibilities for the assets to specialist skilled

operators, for implementation, in accordance with sound asset management

philosophies,

(c) upskilling of local contractors and personnel in improved asset maintenance activities,

(d) training and employment opportunities for local people, and

(e) the opportunity for the contractors to earn a stream of revenue over a long term by

meeting their contract’s requirements.

A4. Procurement Process

Subject to the rights which it reserves as are set out in other parts of this ISSIA, FRA intends to

procure several maintenance contracts by a competitive tender process following the

evaluation of Statements of Interest and Abilities.

FRA intends to make further information regarding the proposed contracts available to the

selected tenderers at the time of issue of the RFT.




FRA intends to send the RFT document to a maximum of five selected tenderers with the

reserved right to add to the selection. FRA also reserves the right to reject any or all of the

responses.

An indicative time-scale for the procurement process as intended by FRA is:

Milestone Indicative date

Issue of ‘Invitation to submit Statements of Interest and Ability’ May 2012

Industry Briefing and visits May 2012

Submission of Statements June 2012

Selected tenderers advised and Issue of RFT July 2012

Tender closing date September 2012

Award of contract(s) October 2012

Commencement of Maintenance Operations January 2013

A5. Scope of Maintenance Activities

Until the present time, maintenance of the road assets has been carried out by the former

Department of National Roads and municipal authorities ultilising in-house services and some

contracts.

Table 1 below indicates the extent of roads previously under the control of the Department of

Main Roads, but this excludes municipal roads. Inventories are not yet complete.

Classifications Sealed Unsealed Total

National Main Roads 772 km 914 km 1686 km

Secondary and other roads 249 km 3126 km 3375 km

Municipal Roads tba tba 200km

Other roads Tba tba ~ 5000 km

Bridges n.a n.a 809

Culverts n.a n.a 335

Jetties n.a n.a 15

Street Lights n.a. n.a. tba




The scope of work carried out under the existing maintenance arrangements is more limited

than that now proposed.

Figure 1 below indicates the geographical divisions of the Fiji islands. These divisions may be

used in part to define the extent of the assets included within the various maintenance

contracts.

Figure 1: Fiji Islands, Geographical Divisions

The scope of the various works and services intended to be included in the proposed contracts

will be defined in Drawings, a Specification and referenced documents, which FRA intends to

issue to selected tenderers with the RFT, following the consideration of Statements.

As a preliminary indication, scope of the proposed contracts is likely to include:

• inspections, programming and financial management

• asset inventory compilation and updating

• sealed pavement maintenance

• repair of surface defects

• unsealed pavement maintenance, upgrading and reconstruction

• kerb, channel and footpath repairs

• drainage maintenance

• carriageway clearance and street cleaning

• bridge maintenance

• vegetation control

• temporary traffic management

Northern Division

Eastern Division

Western Division

Central Division




• road marking

• signs and other roadside furniture

• traffic counting

• emergency works and disaster responses

• seawall, retaining wall and gabion wall maintenance

• slip clearance

• resealing

• pavement rehabilitation

A6. Geographical Extent

A tentative proposal for extent of the several maintenance contracts, subject to futher

refinement of scope boundaries is for separate contracts to be let covering roads and other

assets located in:

(i) Western Division

(ii) Central Division

(iii) Northern and Eastern Division

(iv) Urban Lami, Suva and Nausori

(v) Possibly a separate contract for bridge and jetty maintenance.

Locations of some of the national main roads are shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Outline diagram of main roads in Western, Central and Northern Divisons

More detailed drawings and an asset inventory are currently being compiled. These records of

assets are currently being reviewed and the scope may be revised when the RFT

documentation is produced.

The focus of the proposed contracts is mainly on maintenance, but it is anticipated that some

new construction and rehabilitation of assets may also be carried out, either as part of the

Scope or through Variations.




A7. Optional Briefing Meeting

Interested parties who are considering the preparation of a response to this Invitation are

offered the opportunity of participating in a briefing meeting during which information about

FRA’s intentions for the procurement process and its expectations for the future maintenance

contracts will be discussed.

Attendance at this briefing is encouraged but is not a mandatory requirement for Respondents.

FRA may elect to utilise information discussed at this briefing meeting to help refine the later

RFT documentation for the proposed maintenance contracts.

The meeting is scheduled to be held at Tanoa Plaza Hotel, Corner Garden and Malcolm

Streets, Suva, commencing at 9am on Tuesday 29 May 2012.

In order to assist with logistics and catering at this meeting, those wishing to attend should be

limited to not more that two persons per Respondent.

The names and contracts details of such attendees should be advised by email to

[email protected] not later than Thursday 24 May 2012.

Attendees’ costs of travel or time for their attendance at the briefing meeting will not be

reimbursed by FRA.

A8. Requirements for Statements of Interest and Ability

Because of the importance and variety of tasks which will be required to be performed by the

successful contractors during the contract periods, FRA wishes to be satisfied that invited

tenderers have active interest and strong abilities in all relevant areas.

FRA intends to use the information submitted as statements in response to this ISSIA to select

potential contractors from whom tenders will be invited. The selected list will be compiled from

an evaluation of interest and ability factors listed above, with the number of contractors invited

to tender being limited to those that FRA considers best qualified for the tasks.

Respondents are requested to supply in their statements all the information which is requested

in the pro-forma that are included in this ISSIA. All of the information sought should be

supplied by Respondents in their Statements. To facilitate the evaluation of Statements and to

avoid delay, none of the information requested should be withheld, nor should assumptions be

made that the information is already known to FRA.




Each Statement shall be limited to 20 pages of A4 size printed material. The Statement will be

used during evaluation of qualifications and may be supplemented by other enquiries about the

Respondent made by the evaluators.

The topics defined in the pro-forma in B of this ISSIA shall be used as headings for the supply

of information, with individual sections expanded to suit the information required to be

submitted. To facilitate this, the sections may be retyped. Other than this expansion, no

change should be made to the content of the questions, and the order of them must not be

changed.

One signed copy of statements bound into a single document and an identical unbound (loose

leaf) copy shall be provided. Any other supporting information shall be clearly cross-

referenced and contained within the same package. Information which is additional to that

requested in this ISSIA may be provided by Respondents, but conciseness is encouraged and

any consideration of such additional material will be at FRA’s discretion.

A9. Submission of Statements

Respondents shall submit their Statements in a sealed package containing the above defined

originals and copy of all the completed forms to the location defined below.

The package should not bear any marks identifying the name of the Respondent, but shall be

labelled on the outside as follows:

“Statement of Interest and Abilities for Road Maintenance Contracts”

The package shall be addressed as follows and delivered to:

Fiji Procurement Office

Level 4, West Wing

Ro Lalabalavu House

Victoria Parade

Suva

Fiji

In order for a Statement to be considered as part of the evaluation, the Statement shall be

delivered into the respective Tender Box at the above address, no later than 4pm Fiji time, on

the date specified in the Advertisement at the start of this ISSIA or as subsequently advised by

FRA.




If a Statement is received by the FRA after this time, it may be considered at the FRA’s sole

discretion.

In order to maintain the integrity of the evaluation process, Statements shall not be submitted

by fax nor by e-mail because their successful receipt and confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.

FRA reserves the right to extend the deadline for receipt of statements, to consider any non-

conforming statements, and to consider other responses.

Respondents attempting to influence the outcome of the selection or tender process directly or

indirectly through FRA’s management, staff or advisors during the pre-qualification process or

subsequent tender period (other than as is provided for in the ISSIA or later RFT) may be liable

to disqualification.




A10. Evaluation of Statements

FRA wishes to be satisfied that selected tenderers will have the capability, experience,

resources and skills to undertake the contract. Statements and responses to issues raised at

any interviews will be evaluated on this basis.

FRA may select all, some or none of the respondents to participate in the subsequent tender

process. Respondents will be notified of whether they have been so selected, but no

correspondence on the reasons for inclusion or exclusion of any respondent will be entered

into.

The evaluation of Statements will seek to identify the best qualified tenderers capable of

delivering the required services. The criteria for and the conduct of the evaluation will be at the

FRA’s sole discretion and no correspondence on this matter will be entered into with any

tenderer.

All enquiries regarding this ISSIA and the subsequent tender process should be directed only

in writing to FRA at the address given below:


(For attentionof Mr Bruce Buxton)

email: [email protected]

Address: PO Box 119, Suva, Fiji

The selected tenderers will be notified in writing by FRA with further details of the tender

process.




B Information Required in Statements

The following tables with their respective item numbers and headings shall be retyped and

used in Statements, with responses added to the extent that they are relevant to the

Respondent’s current business.




B1. General Information on Respondent

Item Information Sought

B1.1 Company Name of Respondent (or of Lead Member of Respondent Consortium):

B1.2 Respondent’s contact address, telephone and fax numbers:

B1.3 Respondent’s point of contact person in respect of this Statement, together with one deputy:

B1.4 State date, location and jurisdiction of Respondent’s incorporation, or if not a company

describe type of organisation and how constituted:

B1.5 Describe ownership of Respondent, and if a subsidiary provide details of parent company,

and of ultimate parent company if more than one layer:

B1.6 Details of any other members of Respondent’s consortium, if proposed

(company name, address, contact names, incorporation, ownership as in B1.1 to B1.5 above):

B1.7 Details of sub-contractors and their roles as currently envisaged:

B1.8 Respondent’s technical advisers (in relation to this programme as currently envisaged):

B1.9 Describe any new legal entity which the Respondent envisages may be established for the

purpose of implementing the contract:

B1.10 Proposed contractual arrangements between any consortium members of the Respondent if

successful in being entrusted with contracts(s) under this programme:

B1.11 Describe the management structure and responsibilities envisaged for contracts under this

programme, including key employees:

B1.12 Provide a statement on how participation in this programme could be expected to align with

the strategic business aspirations of the Respondent:




B2. Financial Information

Where the Respondent is a consortium, separate answers by each member of the Consortium

are required.


B2.1 Provide one copy of audited accounts for the last trading year for the Respondent together

with one copy of the latest annual accounts report if not yet audited. If the Respondent does

not have audited accounts, provide unaudited accounts and an explanation:

B2.2 Provide one copy of audited accounts similarly for the last trading year for parent company of

Respondent (if any) and for ultimate parent company if more than one layer:

B2.3 Provide details of any outstanding litigation or arbitration where the potential liability of the

Respondent could exceed FJD $1,000,000 or equivalent, for any item of claim or in total:

B2.4 Provide details of any contracts entered into by Respondent which have been the subject of

litigation or other dispute processes or have been terminated during the last 5 years:

B2.5 Provide details of the Respondent’s Bank, with contact details including representatives with

whom the Principal may discuss the Respondent’s financial standing:

B2.6 Demonstrate with examples that the Respondent has been able to provide performance

bonding on contracts of a similar scale to those envisaged for this maintenance programme

(i.e. at least a performance bond of $F1 million on at least a $F10 million contract):




B3. Resource Information

Where the Respondent is a consortium, separate answers by each member of the Consortium

are required.


B3.1 Provide details of total numbers of staff currently employed by the Respondent:

B3.2 Provide a breakdown of total staff members by workplace location (and country) and

employment classification (management, operations staff, designers, construction workers,

administration, etc):

B3.3 Provide details of the Respondent’s staff numbers currently engaged in:

a) new road construction activities:

b) road maintenance (may overlap with a):

B3.4 Provide details of exisiting, current major contract commitments including client, contract

name, approximate value of work, for the Respondent:

B3.5 Provide comment on how and from where it is envisaged that additional resources required

for the project will be procured, transferred or recruited:

B3.6 Provide any additional information on the Respondent’s previous experience in solving

resourcing problems on contracts of this kind:

B3.7 Provide details of the Respondent’s health and safety record including lost time accident

statistics, on all its business activities during the past 3 years:

B3.8 Provide details of any industrial disputes or disruption on any of the Respondent’s work sites

during the past 3 years:




B4. Road Maintenance Contract Experience

Provide information on the Respondent’s experience of maintenance contracts for rural and

urban road networks, bridges and jetties with emphasis on activities during the last 10 years.

Details of the size, dates of involvement, value and locations of the contracts is required.

Supply the name and phone number of client referees who have been approached by the

tenderer beforehand and who have agreed to be contacted is also requested, in relation to

some or all of the above maintenance contracts. This road maintenance experience must be

directly related to the tenderer.

In the case of newly formed firms or consortia, relevant experience held by other members of

the consortia or named personnel who are proposed for this Contract may be also submitted,

with explanation.




B5. Institutional Strengthening and Skills Upgrading

Provide short factual statements on each of the following topics which demonstrate the

Respondent’s knowledge and experience of working in the legal, cultural, social and physical

environment similar to the Fiji Islands. These statements should particularly indicate how

technology tranfers of skills to local citizens and local subcontracting organisations would be

addressed by the Respondent if required in contracts let under this programme. Recent

examples of successful implementations in developing countries will be particularly beneficial.


B5.1 Implementation of training and development programmes for locally recruited staff

B5.2 Managing emergency responses in a road network maintenance context:

B5.3 Improving the quality management of construction and maintenance:

B5.4 Managing industrial relations and employment conditions:

B5.5 Resourcing of road network maintenance activities in Fiji or other Pacific Islands:

B5.6 Effective use of local subcontractors:




B6. Undertakings by Respondent

The Respondent expresses interest in the proposed contracts and seeks the opportunity to

participate in the tender process. If selected, it undertakes to prepare and submit tenders for

one or more of the contract packages

The Respondent declares that the responses contained in this Statement and all other

information provided with the Statement is accurate in all material respects, to the best of the

Respondent’s knowledge.

The Respondent (or Lead Member on behalf of all members of the Respondent’s consortium)

undertakes that in the event of being selected to tender for contracts under the above

programme, it will:

• observe confidentiality for all information sent to it by FRA in relation to the contract

procurement process,

• not to attempt to influence the outcome of the selection or tender process by any direct

approach to FRA management, staff or advisors during the pre-qualification process or

subsequent tender period, other than as provided for in the ISSIA or RFT,

• not disclose any such information to other parties except for the purpose of obtaining

quotations for goods and services required for the preparation of a tender and for the

obtaining of professional advice.

In making these declarations and undertakings the Respondent confirms that all members of

the Respondent’s consortium (if any) accept and agree to the conditions set out in the ISSIA.

The signatory below is authorised by each of the members of the Respondent’s consortium (if

any) to make the undertakings set out above, on their behalf.

On behalf of Respondent:

(Company Name)

Signed by:

Designation:

Date

mwh global & fiji roads authority proposed road maintenance contracts programme invitation

Documents

fiji roads authority

ability issia

fra issia final

local roads

fiji islands

issia document

extent of contracts

required statements