Feed the Future Bangladesh Agricultural Infrastructure Development Activity

Dear Prospective Bidders, The United States Agency for International Development in Bangladesh (USAID/Bangladesh) intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a contract (including construction) for Feed the Future Bangladesh Agricultural Infrastructure Development Activity. The goal of this activity (Agricultural Infrastructure activity) is to improve agricultural infrastructure in order to increase the availability of quality and safe agricultural produce for domestic, regional and international markets that will benefit agricultural value chain actors such as smallholder farmers, agro-input dealers, processors and marketers within the Feed the Future (FTF) Zone of Influence and USAID/Bangladesh Zone of Resilience. The objectives of this Activity are: Goal: Increased availability of quality agricultural produce for domestic, regional and international markets Objective 1: Increased access to markets for agricultural produce, inputs and services Intermediate Result (IR) 1.1: Improved transportation of agricultural produce, inputs and services between farms and markets IR 1.2: Improved capacity of LGED to maintain rural roads efficiently and sustainably Objective 2: Enhanced post-harvest handling and storage of agricultural produce IR 2.1: Increased access to post-harvest handling and storage facilities IR 2.2: Improved operation and maintenance of aggregation and storage facilities to ensure sustainability Objective 3: Increased productivity and production of farmlands IR 3.1: Improved irrigation and drainage systems for crop cultivation IR 3.2: Improved operation and maintenance of drainage and irrigation systems to ensure proper function and sustainability Cross-cutting IRs Increased capacity of LGED to plan, tender, and oversee construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure in the rural areas Increased transparency of LGED procurement practices Increased engagement with the private sector to ensure operation and maintenance of select infrastructure The estimated cost of this contract is approximately $10 million for approximately 60 months of contract performance. USAID/Bangladesh intends to use full and open competition for this procurement via a Request for Proposal (RFP) where the award will be made to the lowest priced responsive and responsible bidder. In accordance with the authorized Geographic Code 937, US and Bangladeshi firms are eligible to participate in this RFP. This competition is not restricted to small businesses. A full RFP is anticipated to be available within approximately two weeks after publication of this notice. The offeror would have four to six weeks to submit proposals against the RFP. The full RFP notice will provide information on where plans will be available for inspection without charge. Any proposals/questions submitted in response to this notice will not be considered. Formal question and answer period will be announced on the full RFP. Prospective offerors are advised that this procurement is subject to internal USAID approvals and the availability of funds. This notice is NOT an RFP and in no way obligates the US Government to issue a full RFP and/or award a contract, nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation of responses. This notice satisfies the synopsis requirement in FAR 5.2. If a full RFP is issued, all necessary information will be supplied at the time it is posted to www.beta.sam.gov, and information may be different than what is noted above and/or in the draft RFP. Interested parties are advised to periodically monitor the above website and solicitation number for updates concerning this procurement. Sincerely, USAID/Bangladesh N.B.: Any response to this notice is not requried