Provision of services for Development of the Feasibility Study for further expansion of the Skopje District Heating System (DHS) Network

New amendment added #3:  Extension of the deadline for bids submission to 18/10/2024 at 15h CEST 

New clarification added: Dear potential bidders, Due to the difficulties several bidders had with login to our platform, we are working on a short  (1 day) extension of the deadline, in order to ensure the equal treatment of all the potential bidders and allow for all the bidders the possibility to upload their offers.Thank youUNOPS RSMCO

New clarification added: Question:- Please clarify in which Form A-C shall be enclosed the last three years financial statements or audited reports or solvency reports by the Bidder?- Additionaly, please confirm if the proof of the relevant financial data (turnover of USD 150.000 minimum or equivalent in other currency over the last 3 years) in case of Consortium, shall be submitted only by the Lead Member?Answers:- The last three years financial statements or audited reports or solvency reports should be enclosed as separate documents, not as part of any of the Returnable Forms- The criteria element reads:  "Financial capability, sufficient economic and financial capacities to implement the activities as described in the ToR (leading member in case of consortium), with sufficient turnover of USD 150.000 minimum or equivalent in other currency over the last 3 years (leading member in case of consortium) / last three financial statements or audited reports or solvency reports are required."Therefore, the last three financial statements or audited reports or solvency reports of the leading member in case of consortium are required. 

New clarification added: Question:In Form D Section 3 it is asked to "Explain how the proposed roles of the management and the team of key personnel qualified and suitable for the provision of the necessary services. Insert response here by filling up the below table".  In the table below, it is asked to fill the table, 3rd column with "Requirements as per Terms of reference", with instruction to Copy the requirements in the TOR. It is not clear if the Consultant should just copy the ToR requirements for each key personnel or these requirements should be tailored-up into the exact qualifications of the proposed key personnel.Answer:Into this field should be inserted a brief description of how each of the team members complies with the criteria (i.e. mandatory + additional points), supported by the detailed CV, copies of university diploma and personal references that are to be attached with the proposal.

New amendment added #2: 1)  Alteration of the requirement for the degree of Technical Specialists:Requirement shall state "a degree in Mechanical Engineering or similar field"Change is reflected:- in the document:  "2 RFP_Section_II_Schedule of Requirements  - ver.1"- in Criteria section of the tender.2) Extension of the deadline for bids submission to 17/10/2024 at 15h CEST

New clarification added: In Form G, sub-chapter 2.3. it is asked to "Provide time schedule and human resources estimates in realistic, appropriate, clear and understandable manner. Provide details on the Work Plan and explain how the sequence of suggested activities is logical and realistic and contributes to efficient implementation of the project."We are considering to include estimated man-days in this part, so we wanted to check if this is permitted or if these numbers should be listed only within Form C. Budget allocation per man-day and project in total will be listed only in Form C.Answer:All financial details should be listed and presented exclusively in the form C.It is allowed to include estimation of the man days or similar details into the Work Plan, as long as it is without any of the prices or other financial details.

New clarification added: Clarification:For the Technical Specialists (2 positions) University degree in Mechanical Engineering is required.Within the tender amendment that is to be published, it will be alowed that Technical Specialists have a degree in Mechanical Engineering or similar field, to allow a wider competition but preserve the expert area that is required.*** Once amendment is published, all relevant documents (including Section II and Section III) will reflect the above mentioned change. 

New clarification added: Question:When preparing offer documentation, we need to submitt additional documents with Forms1. Does university diplomas need to be translated on english language or they can be on local language2. When preparing Performance statement Form, with every reference we need to also enclose proofs (Reference letter, Invoice or contract) - does the proofs needs to be also translated on english language or they could be on local language.Answer:- All documentation that is prepared for the tender (for example Returnable Forms, Methodology Document, Work Plan, etc) are to be submitted in UNOPS official langage, which is English.- Original documentation issued by the state or similar (for example -  University diplomas, Excerpt from the state registration, original contracts with clients, etc) may be in local language and does not need to be translated for the purpose of the offer submission. However, UNOPS reserves the right to require translation of these documents during the evaluation phase. 

New clarification added: Question:When fulfilling Form I: Statement of Exclusivity and Availability, it is needed to fullfill period of expert availability (From - To).Is it neccessary to insert dates/months here - for example 'From 11/2024 To 06/2025' - 8 months duration of the contract as predicted in tender documentation, or, as we do not know when the Contract is going to be signed, we could fulfill it only with months of the service - for example From 'Month 1 To Month 8'.If we need to fulfill it with dates/months, could you please send us information when Contract signature is expected.Answer:It is not necessary to insert the exact dates, it is sufficient to insert the months or phases that the expert would be engaged for (in eg. "phase 1 - initial, 2 months duration"  or "entire contract duration").

New clarification added: Question 1:In the Section 2 - Schedule of Requirements, under Qualification criteria for the Team, it's required one expert for Data Analyst, while in Section III -Returnable Bidding Forms, particularly Form D: Technical Proposal Form, Section 3: Key personnel proposed, in the relevant table are indicated two positions for Data Analyst, please clarify. Answer 1:We confirm  that the minimum number of experts required is as listed within the Section II:one Team Leader, two Technical specialists, one Data Analyst, one Financial Analyst, one Legal Expert and one Environmental expert.Therefore, when completing the table in Section III, Form D: Technical Proposal Form, you may leave blank fields relating to the additional team members that are not mandatory and are not included in your offer (for example you may leave blank the 2.row for Data analyst).Question 2:Is it allowed one Expert to be nominated on two different positions as a key personnel? Answer 2:One Expert can be nominated on two different positions as key personnel, provided that one of these positions is Team Leader (eg. Team leader is also proposed for the role of Legal Expert etc.) 

New amendment added #1: Extension of the deadline for the offers submission and extension of the expected contract award date.

New clarification added: Question:Considering the Procurement Dossier and the relevant Forms to be submitted within the proposal, particularly the relevant Form G - Performance Statement Form, which required reference letter that confirms that the contract has been successfully finalized, we will need additional time to secure all the original statements by our clients. Hence, we would kindly appreciate if you can extend the actual deadline for submission of proposal for additional two weeks.  Answer:Considering the project implementation dynamic the deadline for offer submission will be extended for 10 additional days, by 14 October 2024. 

New clarification added: Question from the bidder: Could we use our official company Template with included all Sections from the Form D, or we need to strictly use Form D from the Tender documentation?Response:It is mandatory to use the forms given in the tender and bidders may insert additional documents and reffer to them in the form.

New clarification added: Question:Kindly please inform if current employees in the Shareholding Company for Electricity Production "Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (AD ESM), or in their fully owned subsidiaries (ESM Heat Production, ESM Distribution and ESM Supply) can be engaged for some expert positions for this assignment by the Bidder/Consulting Company. Please confirm that it will not be treated as conflict of interest.Answer:We confirm that the companies, including the Shareholding Company for Electricity Production "Elektrani na Severna Makedonija" (AD ESM) and their fully owned subsidiaries (ESM Heat Production, ESM Distribution, and ESM Supply), are considered beneficiaries and were included in the development of the Terms of Reference (ToR). Therefore engagement of current employees from these entities or its subsidiaries by the Bidder/Consulting Company for this assignment would be treated as a potential conflict of interest and would not be permissible.