Consultant Services for Works Supervision of Sewerage and Drainage Infrastructure in Dutch Quarter, Sint Maarten

New clarification added: Q1: Hello, We kindly request an extension of the submission deadline for this tender to allow sufficient time to finalize all technical and administrative aspects of our proposal and ensure a complete and high-quality submission. Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to your response. Best regards.A1: Please refer to Amendment No. 1Q2: We refer to Section II Evalution Method and Criteria Part 3: (page 12) Key Personnel Proposed, which identifies the following Key Personnel; 1. Project Manager. 2. HSSE Specialist. 3. Water and Sanitation Expert. We also refer to Section V: Requirements, B.2 (page 29) - On-site construction inspection, which states: ""The Resident Engineer and the HSSE Specilaist must be present on-site during Key phases and generally during working hours. Other Key Personnel must carry out at least one weekly on-site inspection relative to their discipline"". This indicates that all personnel should be based in Sint Maarten for the duration of the project, in order to be able to make the the required 'weekly site visits.During the Pre-bid Meeting held on Thursday 30th July 2026 at 9:00 a.m., it was indicated that the level of input required for the Water and Sanitation Expert and other Key and/or Non-Key personnel could be determined by the bidder, which is in contradiction to the referenced requirement above.Could you please clarify / confirm our new understanding that apart from the Resident Engineer and HSSE Specialist, who must be full-time present in Sint Maarten, all other Key and Non-Key personnel, including the Project Manager and Water and Sanitation Expert, need not necessarily be present in Sint Maarten fulltime, and can support the project remotely, along with periodic country site visits made to Sint Maarten. For a project of this nature, this model would be sufficient with the Resident Engineer and HSSE Specialist already base fulltime in Sint Maarten for the project.A2: Please refer to Amendment No. 1. To clarify and rectify this contradiction, UNOPS confirms that the statement in Section V, Requirement B.2 ("Other Key Personnel must carry out at least one weekly on-site inspection relative to their discipline") has been removed. As established under the Section V, Subsection 3.7 – Key Personnel, "Personnel Availability and Site Presence", UNOPS confirms that bidders are permitted to determine and propose the level of effort, personnel allocation, and site presence (including a model of remote support combined with periodic site visits) for their experts. However, bidders are reminded that their proposed methodology, resource allocation, and site presence must be explicitly detailed in their proposal and must be strictly commensurate with the scope, complexity, and risks of the Project. The Consultant must ensure that all Key Personnel are sufficiently mobilized and available to attend key meetings, conduct necessary inspections, and witness testing/commissioning activities as required. The appropriateness of the proposed personnel availability and management structure will be assessed during the technical evaluation.Q3: Would performance bonds issued by an insurance company be acceptable?A3: Yes, according to Schedule 1.1, 'Details Provided by the Employer', the permitted guarantors for performance security are any bank or financial institution approved by the employer. This includes insurance companies; however, this is subject to the following remarks: 1) UNOPS will only accept guarantees from banks or other financial institutions with a minimum long-term credit rating of BBB- with Standard & Poor's, Baa3 with Moody's Investors Service, or BBB- with Fitch Ratings. Any bank guarantee issued by a financial institution with a credit rating below these outlined ratings will require prior validation from UNOPS. And 2) The Schedule 5.2 'Form for Performance Security' must be followed without material deviation.

New amendment added #1: Amendment No. 1Potential proponents are notified of the subsequent adjustments to the request for proposal (RFP/2026/63045) documentation, which should be reflected in their respective submissions:Tender Information - General information tab: The deadline for Submissions has been extended. It now reads as follows:Before: Deadline: 2026-08-24 / 19:00 UTC (15:00 hrs Sint Maarten time)Now: Deadline: 2026-09-07 / 19:00 UTC (15:00 hrs Sint Maarten time) Tender Information - General information tab: The deadline for Clarification Requests has been extended. It now reads as follows:Before: Deadline: 2026-08-13 / 21:00 UTC (17:00 hrs Sint Maarten time)Now: Deadline: 2026-08-27 / 21:00 UTC (17:00 hrs Sint Maarten time) Tender Information - Particulars information tab - Pre bid meeting:A second information session has been scheduled for 11 August 2026 at 2:00 p.m. (Sint Maarten time). The content of both sessions will be identical. This additional session has been arranged for informational purposes only and to provide greater flexibility for prospective bidders who were unable to attend the first session. Tender Information - Particulars information tab - Expected contract award date:Before: 2026-10-15Now:: 2026-10-30  Documentation Updates:The document specified below has been withdrawn:2. RFP_2026_63045 Section II, III, IV, V.pdf​The following items have been incorporated:Pre-bid meeting presentation RFP_2026_63045.pdfPre Bid Meeting Minutes_RFP_2026_63045.pdf2. RFP/2026/63045 Section II, III, IV, V_Amendment No. 1.pdfPlease note: Bidders are informed that added text is highlighted in blue bold, while removed text is indicated by red strikethrough.Section IV: Schedule of details - Schedule 1: Contract details - 1.1 Details Provided by the Employer: The subclause 3.2 Permitted Guarantors for Performance Security has been updated.Section V: Requirements - Schedule 3: requirements of the Employer - 3.1 Scope of Service: The numeral 3 Comprehensive and explicit scope of the Services, B.2 On-site construction inspection has been updated.​Except for the modifications detailed in this amendment, all other aspects of the document remain valid and unchanged.UNOPS