Local Guard Services at U. S. Embassy Panama City, Panama

Solicitation SAQMMA11R0022 is issued December 19, 2011. Synopsis: The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has a requirement for a qualified Contractor to provide Local Guard Services for the U.S. Embassy Panama City, Panama. The U.S. Embassy requires a secure environment to conduct its mission. The Contractor shall provide the organizational structure, management, and qualified staff at levels adequate to meet or exceed the requirement contained in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The estimated number of annual hours for guard services at this location is approximately 190,092 hours. The Contractor shall be required to provide services that prevent loss or injury to U.S. personnel; dependents; property; destruction of assets; prevent unauthorized access; and, deter potential terrorist attacks. Anticipated period of performance is one base year and four one-year options (to 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. The Government plans to post the solicitation in late December 2011. No paper copies will be mailed. All prospective offerors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) in order to be eligible for award. All offers must comply with all applicable Panamanian law. Prospective offerors are encouraged to carefully review Ley 56 and Ley 57, as published in Panama's Gaceta Oficial No. 26795-A and No. 26795-B. The Government will solicit this requirement as a small business set aside. Offers from other than small businesses will not be considered. The approximate acquisition schedule is as follows: The synopsis will be posted followed by the solicitation as soon as available after the required posting of the synopsis for 15 days. Then the Question and Answer (Q&A) period begins. Once the solicitation is posted on FedBizOpps, the offerors will have approximately 60 days to submit proposals. All dates are subject to change and Offerors will be notified by registering on https://www.fbo.gov. Site Visit attendance is not mandatory, but highly encouraged. A site visit is expected to be scheduled approximately three to four weeks after the solicitation is posted. Offerors are responsible for entry visa (if required); all travel arrangements, local transportation, and accommodations. Due to space limitations, only two (2) representatives from each firm will be allowed for the conference and site visit. No questions will be answered concerning this requirement until the solicitation is posted. Once the solicitation is posted, questions may be submitted by email to Winkle Nemeth at nemethww@state.gov. PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. In accordance with 22 U.S.C. Section 4864, the Government will give preference to offerors qualifying as U.S. persons or U.S. Joint Venture Persons. The contract will be awarded to the lowest price, technically acceptable proposal. Contracting Office Address: P.O. Box 9115 Rosslyn Station Arlington, Virginia 22219