Overview
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (FIRMS)
The Government of Saint Lucia (GOSL) has applied for financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) towards the cost of Technical Assistance – Port Development Project and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under a contract for which this invitation is issued. Payments by CDB will be made only at the request of GOSL and upon approval by CDB, and will be subject in all respects to the terms and conditions of the Financing Agreement. The Financing Agreement prohibits withdrawal from the financing account for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import, to the knowledge of CDB, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. No party other than GOSL shall derive any rights from the Financing Agreement or have any claim to the proceeds of the Financing.
The Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA), the Executing Agency, now wishes to procure consultancy services for a Port Development Master Plan, Feasibility Study and Detailed Designs. The objective of the consultancy is to develop a technically, socially, environmentally and economically viable solution to constructing and operating a port at Cul De Sac to allow for the relocation of cargo operations from the Port of Castries. The duration of the assignment is expected to be for a period of 40 weeks, commencing May 2024.
SLASPA now invites interested eligible consulting firms and joint ventures to submit Expressions of Interest indicating their interest and ability to provide these consultancy services.
Eligibility
Consultants shall be eligible to participate if:
- in the case of a body corporate, it is legally incorporated or otherwise organised in an eligible country, has its principal place of business in an eligible country and is more than 50 percent beneficially owned by citizen(s) and/or bona fide resident(s) of eligible country(ies) or by a body(ies) corporate meeting these requirements;
- in the case of unincorporated firms, the persons are citizens or bona fide residents of an eligible country; and
- in all cases, the Consultant has no arrangement and undertakes not to make any arrangements, whereby any substantial part of the net profits or other tangible benefits of the contract will accrue or be paid to a person not a citizen or bona fide resident of an eligible country.
Eligible countries are member countries of CDB.
The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraphs 5.15 and 5.17 of Procurement Procedures for Projects Financed by CDB (January 2021), setting forth CDB’s policy on conflict of interest for the selection of consultants.
In the assessment of submissions, for each firm or joint venture (JV), consideration will be given to:
- local, regional and international experience with port masterplans, port operational assessments, port design and construction supervision, green ports, and the digitalization of port operations. Experience as a prime consultant, on cargo ports, and on projects funded by multilateral institutions will be assets. Experience also in the conduct of environmental and social impact assessments, including gender and climate risk and vulnerability considerations, should be demonstrated;
- ability to provide personnel to meet the key roles of Port & Maritime Specialist; Coastal Engineer; Civil & Structural Engineer; Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing (MEP) Engineer; Geotechnical Engineer; Environmental Specialist; Social & Gender Specialist; Transport Economist; Information and Communications Technology Specialist; and Human Resource Specialist. Staffing to meet any supporting roles anticipated by the firm or JV should also be indicated e.g. Architect, Quantity Surveyor/Cost Specialist, Climate Change Specialist, Financial Analyst; and/or Physical Oceanographer. Please note a brief profile (name, qualification, years of experience and proposed role) may be supplied for persons proposed for each role but NOT detailed Curriculum Vitae;
- financial capability as evidenced by a statement from their financial institution indicating they are not bankrupt; and
- existing commitments by providing a description of current and anticipated engagements over the next two years.
Please note where a firm submits an Expression of Interest as a prime consultant in association with sub-consultants, ONLY the experience of the prime consultant shall be evaluated. However, where associations take the form of a JV, the experience of ALL JV partners shall be evaluated. In all cases, the qualifications and experience of individuals will NOT be evaluated.
Instructions
Expressions of Interest must be submitted in English electronically by email in pdf format to avlin.regis@slaspa.com no later than 4:00 pm, Saint Lucia time on Wednesday 24th January 2024. The email subject line should state “Expression of Interest – Consultancy Services for a Port Development Master Plan, Feasibility Study and Detailed Designs” and the email body must state the name and address of the applicant. The Expression of Interest will be deemed to have been received at the time that it is received by the Tenders Committee. The burden of proving receipt of the e-mail will be on the applicant and will not be met solely by a read receipt or sent items report generated by the applicant’s computer. In addition, one copy must be submitted simultaneously by email to CDB to procurement@caribank.org, again with the email subject line stating “Expression of Interest – Consultancy Services for a Port Development Master Plan, Feasibility Study and Detailed Designs” and the email body stating the name and address of the applicant.
Following the assessment of submissions, a short-list of not less than three and not more than six applicants will be provided with full terms of reference and invited to submit technical and financial proposals to undertake the assignment. GOSL reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not engaging the services of any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.
Further information may be obtained from the first address below between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm local time Monday to Friday.