Retender - ASEAN Power Grid Advancement Program (APG-AP)

New clarification added: Question:Following the clarification in regard to our question of team leadership and in-country presence will take some time to adjust our project team.  We would like to request a 1 week proposal deadline extension.Answer:Unfortunately, the submission deadline will not be extended. The change in our requirement was minor and non-technical. We believe that bidders do not need to significantly revamp their approach as we still require someone from the consultant side to be based in Jakarta full-time.

New clarification added: Question:We have a presence in every ASEAN state except Brunei and Laos (and we’ve delivered many projects in both of those exceptions), but unfortunately it’s highly unlikely we’ll be able to arrange a senior representative to be based in Jakarta full time for six months. Obviously representatives at that level have a range of project commitments across the geography where our clients are located, not just in Jakarta.It seems this would likely rule us out of being able to tender for this project, even as a JV partner with a company that can staff the ASEAN Jakarta office, as I understood it, given every company in the JV had to meet the requirements?However, I wanted to check – you mentioned discussing further internally on flexibility of the location and requirements for the project lead. If something does change again and there is more flexibility, will all companies be able to consider tendering again or will it only be those who already tendered before 25 September (the companies that presumably already meet the Jakarta requirement) that can benefit from any changes to be more flexible, if they occur?Answer:In case the proposal is submitted by a joint venture (JV) partner, a representative from one of the JV members must be physically present at the ACE office (Indonesia) to facilitate communication/coordination with key stakeholders. It is not mandatory for ALL JV member to have their staff on the ground. However, as mentioned in the tender documents, all JV members must be eligible as defined in Section I - Instructions to Offerors, Article 4.We acknowledged the concern raised by bidders on the location of the team lead. Therefore, this requirement has been relaxed by opening the opportunity for bidders to propose any personnel to be based in Jakarta, given that he/she should have a coordination/communication role. This has been reflected in the revised TOR and pre-bid meeting minutes (see the following link: https://www.ungm.org/Public/Notice/212185), and hence, has resulted in a tender amendment (not a retender process) due to minor changes. All bidders are welcome to submit a proposal by 25 September 2023. 

New clarification added: Question:In the updated TOR we note that the Project Team Lead is required to be based in Jakarta, Indonesia to lead the data gathering and coordination with ASEAN counterparts.  In regard to this:Is it necessary for the person to be an national Indonesian-based consultant fluent in Bahasa, or is it acceptable to relocate an International consultant to Jakarta to perform this role?For this role, must this person also be the project Team Leader, or would it be acceptable to assign this person the role of Team Coordinator / Deputy Team Leader, while the Team Leader remains as an International expert?Can the requirement to have an in-country presence position be rotated between two project team members – so long as one is always present in Jakarta for the project’s duration? Answer:1) The team lead can be of any nationality and is not required to be fluent in the local language, Bahasa. However, he/she must be fluent in English since it is a regional programme which involves a lot of communications with multi-national stakeholders. A national (Indonesian) or international team lead is welcomed to be positioned in Indonesia. It depends on your project team composition and his/her availability.2) Yes, we have made adjustments to this requirement. Please refer to the response in Q1 of the pre-bid meeting minutes and the amended ToR.3) We require someone from the consultant side to be based in Jakarta on a full-time basis to lead the coordination and communications with ACE and other development partners. We leave it to the consultant to come up with the proposal on how they would like to approach this. Please refer to the response in Q1 and the amended ToR. 

New amendment added #1: Amendment to upload: (1) Revised Terms of Reference; (2) Pre-Bid Meeting Slides; and (3) Pre-Bid Meeting Minutes.