CANCELLED Reconstructing and strengthening the electricity supply system in Gaza with renewable energy

New amendment added #1: Amendment No. 1:The purpose of this amendment is for:1) Uploading the minutes of the pre-bid meeting under the documents tab.2) Amending the System warranty and its components as follow: 2-year system warranty, the contractor shall guarantee for the system products based on usual practices as per hereunder:Components should be warranted as per hereunder, a minimum fifteen years on PV modules a minimum two years on Batteries a minimum two years on Inverter and charge controller a minimum ten years on metal PV mounting structure a minimum ten years on battery bed or box 3) To Amend the number of years in the criterion “Evidence that the bidder is in continuous business of providing similar goods and services for at least three (3) year prior to bid opening.” from 3 to 2 and make it read as follow: “Evidence that the bidder is in continuous business of providing similar goods and services for at least two (2) year prior to bid opening.”

New clarification added: Apologies. The information is on the portal. We had not see this initiatially in the ITB.Noted

New clarification added: Dear Sir,According to Batteries warranty requested please kindly see the following details:1.       The requested batteries cycle life is 2000 cycle @DoD50%.2.       If the customer discharge and charge the batteries one time daily the total cycle will be 1825 cycle during 5 years.3.       In fact, because of the electricity situation in Gaza the customer discharge and charge the batteries 3 times at least daily, the needed cycle will be 5475 during 5 years.4.       The maximum warranty for the batteries which has a cycle life of 2000 cycle @DoD50% is 2 years so that the customer can discharge and charge the batteries 2190 times during 2 years.5.       There are no manufacturers around the word gives a 5 years warranties on these types of batteries so that we “as a supplier” can’t give this warranty.6.       In general there is no Solar System providers give a warranty on the solar System exceed two years, however the manufacturers of the solar panels can give a warranty of 25 years (third party warranty), so that the contractor can give maximum 2 years warranty for All system batteries, inverters, solar panels. this including site visit and make the maintenance for the system.Thank you for your timeRegardsAnswer:System warranty and its components will be amended as following:2-year system warranty, the contractor shall guarantee for the system products based on usual practices as per hereunder:Components should be warranted as per hereunder, a minimum fifteen years on PV modules a minimum two years on Batteries a minimum two years on Inverter and charge controller a minimum ten years on metal PV mounting structure a minimum ten years on battery bed or box

New clarification added: Regarding item (1.2): technical specifications of PV Modules Array: The PV Modules Array shall have an annual degradation of less than 0.5%; most of PV Modules top brands have an annual degradation of less than 0.7%, and 0.5% is considered high and found in special high price versions, is  0.7% acceptable?Answer: Yes but subject to overall specification of the PV module.Item (1.3): Batteries: is the DC MCB single pole or double pole? Shall all requested batteries in the bid fulfill all mentioned certificates?Answer: Double pole, yesItem (1.6): Switchboard: main PV DC CB  is included in the switchboard, which isn't shown in the attaced SLD (Typical PV system layout), is it required? and if it's required, is it single pole or double pole?Answer: yes and double poleItem (1.8): Wiring: the exposed wiring of the output of the modules structure must be go through plastic conduits, cable trays or pvc pipes. What are the specifications of that cable container? Must the PV Modules connection (PV Modules Connection Cables) be plastic conduits?Answer: No it shall be heavy PVC trunking with proper sizingItem (1.17): Warranty: the batteries warranty is a 5-year warranty in minimum, which is very long considering the number of cycles and every day charging and discharging in Gaza.Answer: System warranty and its components will be amended as following2-year system warranty, the contractor shall guarantee for the system products based on usual practices as per hereunder:Components should be warranted as per hereunder,·         a minimum fifteen years on PV modules·         a minimum two years on Batteries·         a minimum two years on Inverter and charge controller·         a minimum ten years on metal PV mounting structure·         a minimum ten years on battery bed or box ​Typical Steel Structure layout for mounting PV Panels, regarding the not, "the contractor shall provide approved steel structure analysis from qualified engineering consultancy office". Is it applied to the attached steel structure layout or to any change in the design due to the site conditions:?Answer: Yes to the attached ss layout ​regarding section I: instructions to bidder; article 20 (language of bids), if the original language of some documents (e.g. registration certificate from Ministry of Econom) is Arabic Language, is it mandatory to translate them into English Language?Answer: No, it is not mandatoryIs alternative offer acceptable or not?Answer: No

New clarification added: These are some of the clarifications required in the technical specifications & bill of quantities document1. In page 2, point 1.2, you mentioned, "The modules shall have a separate connection box on its back-side that meets protection class IP65" in next paragraph you mentioned "Module Junction box shall be weather proof IP 67", Please explain the confusion?Answer: IP67 or IP65 is ok, the concept is to include weather junction box and eventually depends on the overall specification of the panel.2. Is it not important that the photovoltaic panels been manufactured by top 10 manufacturer in the world?Answer: Not at all, but shall comply with the specification and this may mean implicitly that it shall be from the top 10 manufacturer3. In page 3, point 1.3, you mentioned, "At an average daily duty cycle of 20% depth of discharge at C10 rate, the battery should achieve a minimum of 2,000 cycles of operation." then mentioned " Battery cycles life shall be not less than 2000 @ (50%DoD, 25°C)" ", Please explain the confusion?Answer: 2000 @50% DOD  

New clarification added: For those who do not currently have insurance, does this negatively affect the evaluation of the tender? Do they need to do insurance now? Do they need to fill in the attached forms that belong to the insurance which will be done if they are chosen to contract?Answer: Insurance is one of the technical criteria, and bidders that do not have insurances that comply with the ITB’s requirements it will negatively affect the evaluation of their bids.

New clarification added: We are submitting our bid under a Joint venture.  Please confirm of the bank guarantee can be issued under one member of the JV? This is because at this stage the Joint venture has not been registered until in the event that we secure the award.Answer: Bank guarantee shall be in the name of both members of the JV. All parties shall be jointly and severally liable for any obligations arising from their offer. 

New clarification added: Please can you state the amount required for the Bank guarantee?Answer: The amount of the bid security shall be USD 10,000 

New clarification added: 7. In point 1.10, you mentioned, "The modules shall be at least 1 meters high of the ground and deep concrete anchored", then mentioned "The minimum clearance of the lowest part of the module structure and the developed ground level shall not be less than 0.5m.", Please explain the confusion?Answer: The contractor shall submit a detailed design for the steel structure for UNOPS engineer approval During implementation stage, bearing in mind that the structure mounting mentioned in the specification is indicative only8. Do we need to provide detailed drawings of the PV mounting structure and SLD with tender documents?Answer: No, this can be done During implementation9. In BOQ, , PV combiner box, you mentioned, "only MCB shall be installed and fuses will not be accepted." We suppose the Fuses will be better here, which can be replace easily.Answer: This can be decided during the implementation stage

New clarification added: Will you supply the electricity grid from these systems?Because it will require the adoption of KWH meters from the power company and power authority and take the necessary approvals from them.Answer: The system will not be connected to utility Grid.

New clarification added: Do two SPDs required at AC side of inverter?Answer: Yes as per the layout. 

New clarification added: 4. Is the warranty required for batteries five years from the manufacturer or local warranty? Knowing that none of the lead-acid batteries can be guaranteed for five years.Answer: Warranty for the batteries shall be as per manufacturer recommendations.5. In point 1.9, you mentioned, "Concrete manhole with diecast cover" but in ANNEX III-Typical PV layout mentioned "concrete manhole with concrete cover ", Please explain the confusion?Answer: It  shall be diecast cover6. In point 1.10, you mentioned, "The panels shall be mount keep tilt angle of between 9° - 15° facing south" then mentioned " Modules alignment shall be 30º tilt angle", Please explain the confusion?Answer: Modules alignment tilt angle and facing shall be as per actual site location in Gaza to obtain the required power

New clarification added: Please can you state the amount required for the Bank guarantee?The amount of the bid security shall be USD 10,000 

New clarification added: We are submitting our bid under a Joint venture.  Please confirm of the bank guarantee can be issued under one member of the JV? This is because at this stage the Joint venture has not been registered until in the event that we secure the award.Bank guarantee shall be in the name of both members of the JV. All parties shall be jointly and severally liable for any obligations arising from their offer.

New clarification added: Dear Sir;Kindly Provid us with calrifications on the following ;1- In inverter specification, you require that the  (total inverter/s solar power (@ cos φ = 1) must be equal or greater than 6kW) could you please clarify this point ? 2- Can we offer 2V or 6V batteries with the same total capcity ?3- in Returnable Bid Schedule 2 (Form of Bid Security) is it mandatory to use this form? is it allowable for the bank to use its own form which is in arabic ?Best RegardsAnswers:No.1: Rated output power is 5kw and maximum PV array power is 6kw.No. 2: No, batteries offered by bidders shall comply with the technical specification stipulated in the tender documentsNo. 3: The bid security shall be in the form set out in Returnable Bid Schedule 2 – Form of Bid Security, and it must be in English language  

New clarification added: 1.Regarding the bank guarantee, our bank suggests modifying some content in the RETURNABLE BID SCHEDULE 2,FORM OF BID SECURITY,BANK GUARANTEE FOR BID, such as adding the fixed date of expiration, adding that the claimed amount shall not exceed the guarantee amount,deleting some clauses about claims,etc. Is this acceptable?2.Will you accept the bid bond issued by a local Palestine bank?3.Will you accept the local Palestine insurance company? as we can't find a foreign insurance company that can do the job.Answers:No. 1: No it will not be accepted; the bid security shall be in the form set out in Returnable Bid Schedule 2 – Form of Bid SecurityNo. 2: Yes as long as the bid security is issued by a reputable banking institution. Reputable banking institutions are banks certified by the central bank of the country where the bank is located, to operate as a commercial bank. UNOPS may, at its discretion, reject any bid security that does not comply with this requirement.No. 3: Yes as long as it is from a reputable, certified and legally established insurance company 

New clarification added: Regarding the payment, pls kindly clarify it will be transferred from local Palestine banks or thru the UNOPS bank account in a third Country? Answer:Payment to the Contractor for the completed works will be transferred to his/her bank account from UNOPS local bank in Palestine.