D -- To pilot innovative and sustainable approaches to serving the Last Mile of Sri Lanka with ICT-enabled community-based information centers to promote rural development

USAID/Sri Lanka is organizing a pre-proposal conference on June 7, 2006, to introduce and discuss the Last Mile Initiative, a project aimed at piloting innovative, sustainable methods to deliver Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-enabled community-based information centers in rural areas of Sri Lanka. This initiative seeks to enhance rural development by improving access to technology and information. The conference is designed to help prospective bidders better understand the government’s requirements and clarify any questions regarding the solicitation, ultimately facilitating a more effective proposal preparation process. Attendance is open to interested firms, with a limit of two representatives per organization, and requires pre-registration by June 6. The solicitation, referenced as 386-06-012-02, falls under the NAICS code 519190 and is managed by USAID’s Office in New Delhi, India. The points of contact for the solicitation include acquisition and contracting officers who can provide assistance. The pre-proposal meeting will be held at the Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo, starting with tea and sign-in at 9:30 AM, followed by the conference from 10:00 AM to noon. Interested parties are encouraged to register in advance via email or phone to engage fully in the bidding opportunity for this ICT-enabled rural development project.