**Amendment 001 has been posted.** *Q&A's have been posted.* The U.S. Department of State intends to award a time and materials contract, with firm-fixed price and cost reimbursable elements, for local guard services at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong, S.A.R. Local guard services are required to: prevent loss or injury to U.S. personnel, dependents, property; prevent destruction of assets; prevent unauthorized access; and deter potential terrorist attacks. The Consulate requires a secure environment to conduct its mission. Duties will include, but are not be limited to, restricting entry of unauthorized personnel, the operation of walk-through and hand-held metal detectors, and the operation of electronic and hydraulic barriers. Each Contractor will be asked to provide fully burdened hourly rates for all labor categories (e.g., Guard, Senior Guard, and Supervisor). The fully burdened hourly rates for Standard Services as well as Additional or Emergency Services shall include all wages (local labor law compliance if applicable and any premiums relating to overtime, holidays, or night shifts), overhead, fringe benefits, severance costs, general and administrative expenses and profit for each category of labor. Contractor performance will be monitored through a Quality Assurance and Surveillance Plan. For specific deficiencies in performance, the U.S. Government may deduct the estimated cost for the Government to provide the service in the absence of a contract employee or the additional administrative time incurred by the Government in correcting the performance deficiency. For certain deficiencies such as an unmanned position, the negative incentive for not meeting the Performance Standard is a deduction in the billing amount at the Government's estimate cost for providing the required service not to exceed the length of the guard shift. Some of the major tasks required of the Contractor are Entry Control (i.e., Office Building Entry Control, Official Residential Entry Control, Vehicle Entry and Access Control), Inspections, Use of Explosive and/or X-Ray Inspection Equipment, Patrols, Escort Services, Completion of Logs and Records, Operation of Closed Circuit Televisions, Use of a Guard Electronic Monitoring System, Operation of a Radio Network, and Implementation of a Contingency Plan capable of dealing with strikes and labor unrest should either occur. The Government will solicit this requirement for full and open competition, using acquisition procedures outlined in FAR Part 15. The North American Industry Classification code for this procurement is 561612, Security Guards and Patrol Services. The Government plans to award one contract. The anticipated period of performance is for one base year and four one-year options, which shall be exercised at the sole discretion of the Government. All contracted personnel, regardless of nationality, will be required to pass a background investigation conducted by the Contractor and a separate background investigation conducted by the U.S. Government to certify their suitability for employment under this contract. Additionally, all guards shall successfully complete an approved training program of instruction before being allowed to perform guard services. The basic training program shall consist of 80 hours of training and this requirement does not apply to guards who have previously successfully completed the training. Guard/key personnel positions require a minimum Level 1 English language proficiency, which requires the ability to satisfy minimum courtesy requirements and maintain very simple face-to-face conversations on familiar topics. Certain positions require up to a Level 3 proficiency in English. The Government plans to issue the solicitation 15 days after the issuance of this synopsis, on the FedBizOpps site through addition to this synopsis. No paper copies will be mailed. All announcements and amendments made to this solicitation will be posted to FedBizOpps; to receive updates, click the link for "Watch This Opportunity." The approximate acquisition schedule is as follows: the synopsis will be posted for approximately fifteen (15) days and then the solicitation will be released and will remain open for sixty (60) days. The Question and Answer period begins when the solicitation is released and will end approximately four (4) weeks prior to the close of the solicitation. Proposals must be received by close of the sixty (60) day solicitation period; award will be made approximately sixty (60) days after proposal submission. All dates are subject to change; Offerors will be notified by amendment to the solicitation posted on FedBizOpps. A site visit at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong, S.A.R., is tentatively scheduled for twenty-one (21) days after the solicitation opens; a firm date will be announced at the time the solicitation is posted. Offerors are responsible for all travel arrangements, local transportation, and accommodations in Hong Kong. Due to space limitations, only two representatives from each firm will be allowed to attend the site visit. Do not contact Consulate officials or personnel regarding any element of the solicitation, including the site visit. All proposals from responsible vendors will be evaluated if received on time. No questions concerning this requirement will be answered until the solicitation is posted. Once the solicitation is posted, questions may be submitted by email to Amanda Rogers at RogersAN@state.gov; NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.
