Clarification Sheet No:1 To OFC Project Tender of MCIT

Bid Document Reference Numbers:

G1.1/MCIT/1320/ICB- Expanding Optical Fiber Cable based Backbone Connectivity to Connect Central Provinces of Afghanistan

G1.2/MCIT/1321/ICB- Expanding Optical Fiber Cable based Backbone Connectivity to Connect North-Eastern Provinces of Afghanistan;

Clarification No.: 1

Date: September 26, 2011

Subject: Clarification in response to the queries of bidders

having completed 100% survey of the routes and Communication Nodes”, Question: Is it a physical type survey, if yes, is there any site map or location plan for, is it a requirement for entering pre-bid meeting?

Answer: Yes-it is a physical survey of all the defined Routes and the Communication Nodes as given in the Bidding Documents.Location Plan and Sketches are given in the Bidding Documents. These are 10 District townships and 03 Provincial Capital Cities on the Central Route and 03 District townships and 02 Provincial Capital Cities on the North-Eastern Route. This Survey is not a pre-requisite for attending Pre-bid Meeting at 2.00 PM on 03^rdOct, 2011. However, it is advised to complete the Survey, before attending the Meeting, so that all the Questions of the Potential Bidders can be answered during that Meeting.Potential Bidders should nominate their Survey Teams and send them to MCIT, before they commence the Survey. In MCIT, the Project Director (mi.bhat@mcit.gov.af; phone: 079-30-1945) will brief all the Survey Teams of the Potential Bidders.

Question 2: There aren't actual traffic matrices given in BDs. Should the Bidders quote according to the Estimated BOQ, which MCIT has provided?

Answer: Capacities of STM-64 and STM-16 Systems have been indicated in the Tables given in the SOW and the Technical Specifications as given in both the BDs. Thus, no Traffic matrix needs to be given.

Potential Bidders will bid for the Items as given in the estimated BOQ. However, during the Survey of all the Nodes and the Routes, if any additional Items are required by the Potential Bidders, their costs will also be embedded in the Bid Prices.

Question 3: Are there separate Links for STM-16 and STM-64? Are separate fiber pairs to be used?

Answer: Yes-one pair will be used for STM-64, which will be for STM-64 Capacities, connecting Provincial Cities and another pair will be used to connect District Nodes, providing STM-16 Capacities.

Question 4: STM-64/16 Links will be considered as link Topologies, without network level protection. Please confirm.

Answer: Confirmed. It is planned to upgrade all these Topologies to DWDM when Chagcharan gets connected to Heraat, in Phase-2 funding. At that time, Protection will be catered for.

Question 5: Can we delete some nodes from the topologies according to the product specifications since the Equipment/Systems can cover around 160 KM in one span?

Answer: No Nodes can be eliminated.

All the District Nodes are Drop-Insert Nodes, to provide Communication facilities to the District Users. Moreover, Bidders have been asked to provide an Exchange/Switch (Access Facility) at each District Node to cater for 64 Voice connections and 08 Internet Ports, extending up to 2 Kms from the District node. Please refer to the Estimated BOQ Table given in both the BDs.

Question 6: Shinwari, Ghorband, Shibar, Dawlat Yar: These STM-16 nodes are located between STM-64 nodes. But, according to SDH design principle, the whole link should be either STM-64 or STM-16. Please confirm.

Answer: As discussed earlier, one pair will be used for STM-64, which will be for STM-64 Capacities, connecting Provincial Cities and another pair will be used to connect District Nodes, providing STM-16 Capacities.

Question 7: Please confirm that the Co-ordinates for the cable routes as mentioned in the documents are the latest ones; Are there any changes to the Coordinates of the Locations for Communication Nodes?

Answer: Coordinates as given in the Bidding Documents are the latest ones, except one change on the North-Eastern Route, as mentioned below.

On the North Eastern Route, in place of Teshkan, District Node will be located at Sabz-bahar. Teshkan is away from the Highway and thus, a location on the Highway has been selected in lieu. No change to total requirement of 02 Provincial Nodes and 03 District Nodes. In view of this change, District nodes will be Khan-abad(through New Road), Kishim and Sabz-bahar(not Teshkan). Sabz-bahar is on the highway itself, 50 Kms from Kishim District, leading to Fayz-abad City. On the Central Route, there are no changes to the Site Locations of 03 Provincial Nodes and 10 District Nodes. These are as given in the BD for central Route.

Question 8: US$ 500,000 each has been fixed for both the Tenders as Bid Security; whereas, both tender quantities are different. Is it possible to revise Bank Guarantee amount according to expected cost of the Bid of each Tender?

Answer: Bid Security for the OFC Project on the North-Eastern Route is 200,000 USD. Bidding Document for N-E Route reads as “Bid shall include a bid security of at least USD 200,000(Two Hundred Thousand US Dollars or an equivalent amount in a freely convertible currency) in the form of unconditional bank guarantee included in Section IV, Bidding Forms.

Question 9: Is vendor authorized to touch Out Side Plant (OSP) portion only excluding Inside Plant (ISP) vice versa or Vendor/Contractor is bound to submit consolidated proposal. 

Answer: Both these Projects are turnkey Projects, to commission 13 Nodes on the Central Route and 05 Nodes on the N-E Route. OSP, ISP and the Interfacing Equipment/NOC have to be included in the Proposals/Bids.

Question 10: In case Vendor/Contractor is allowed to take part in ISP or OSP, the Bid Security amount as mentioned in Amendment will remain same or will be decreased.

Answer: Vendor/Contractor is not allowed to take part only in ISP or OSP, being turnkey Projects.

Question 11: 10 % custom duty on Optical Fiber Cable is mentioned in Bid documents. Is it possible for your department to forward copy of Custom duties notification of the Government of Afghanistan?

Answer: What is stated in the BDs is correct; Document will be shown during the Pre-bid Meeting.

Question 12: Can Bank Guarantee   be provided from any scheduled Bank of Pakistan?

Answer: Yes-provided it is a recognized Bank and the Bank Guarantee will need to be authenticated / verified by the Central Bank of Afghanistan.

Question 13: In case of outside plant (OSP) work, is it possible to issue completion certificate/acceptance certificate section wise after fulfilling all cable lying and testing formalities.

Answer: No-It will be done after completing the Routes and the related Nodes, being turnkey Projects

Question 14: Has Supply of equipment (ISP) been separated from main Tenders and will be tendered separately? If yes, will the Bank Guaranty remain same i.e. $ 500,000 for Optical Fiber Cable etc or will be reduced proportionately.

Answer: Separation of ISP from OSP is not possible. Thus, there will be no changes to the Bank Guarantee.

Question 15: For performance Security, the word "PC" is mentioned in the bidding documents. It is requested to forward copy of PC enabling study with respect to performance security and other relevant information of the subject Tenders.

Answer: PC is mentioned for Particular Conditions of the Contract, which specify that the Performance Security will be 10 %. Performance Security Form is a Bank Guarantee, as given correctly in the Contract Forms of the Bidding Documents.
 

Question 16: Could we know quantity of each tender in Kilometers for Optical Fiber Cables, and/ or how many Kilometers is the amount of project for each package?

Answer: Quantities in Kms are given in the BOQ (Estimated) Tables of the Bidding Documents.