Overview
The British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) (the Employer), through its technical partner Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), and funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), is publishing this Invitation for Pre-qualification to solicit prospective Applicants for the proposed British Virgin Islands (BVI) Microgrid Project. Payment by CDB will be made only at the request of the Employer and upon approval by CDB, and will be subject, in all respects, to the terms and conditions of the Agreement between CDB and BVIEC. CDB prohibits any withdrawal of the approved financing for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, equipment, plant or materials, or services if such payment or import, to the knowledge of the Bank, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. No party other than the Employer shall derive any rights from the Agreement or have any claim to the proceeds of the financing.
BVIEC is responsible for the overall implementation of the project. BVIEC intends to prequalify contractors for a future tender for Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services for a microgrid project at Paraquita Bay on the island of Tortola.
The project scope includes solar photovoltaics, battery storage, power management systems, a substation and would require undergrounding of electrical cables, with options for integration with existing fossil fuel generating assets in the BVI. It is expected that bidding documents will be issued to prequalified firms in March 2022.
Eligiblity
Firms whether applying individually or in the form of a Joint Venture, shall:
- be legally incorporated or otherwise organised in, and have their principal place of business in an Eligible Country;
- be more than fifty (50) percent beneficially-owned by a citizen or citizens and/or a bona fide resident or residents of an Eligible Country, or by a body corporate or bodies meeting these requirements, as far as the ownership can be reasonably determined; and
- shall have no arrangement and undertake not to make any arrangement whereby the majority of the financial benefits of the contract, i.e. more than fifty (50) percent of the value of the contract, will accrue or be paid to sub-contractors or sub-consultants that are not from an Eligible Country.
Eligible countries are member countries of CDB[1].
Applicants are advised to review the detailed eligibility criteria detailed in Section 4 and conflict of interest provisions in Section 5 of the Procurement Procedures for Projects Financed by CDB (January, 2021), as published on CDB’s website.
The requirements for pre-qualification will include:
- an average annual turnover (defined as billing for works in progress and completed) over the last five (5) years of two million, five hundred thousand United States dollars (USD2.5 mn);
- demonstrable cash flow (including access to credit) of USD1,000,000 equivalent; and
- experience as prime contractor in the construction of at least three (3) assignments of a nature and complexity comparable to the proposed project activity within the last ten (10) years.
Interested eligible Applicants may obtain a complete set of the prequalification documents in English at the following link: https://bvielectricity.com/british-virgin-islands-electricity-corporation-issues-a-request-for-qualifications-for-a-renewable-energy-microgrid/
Instructions
Requests for further information or clarification can be sent to the e-mail address 1, below.
Pre-qualification submissions must be in English and must be submitted by 2 pm, local time on January 7, 2022.
Submissions should be sent to electronically with the subject line: BVIEC Microgrid Project PD to e-mail address 2, below.
BVIEC reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the prequalification process. BVIEC will not be bound to assign any reason for not pre-qualifying any Applicant and will not defray costs incurred by Applicants in the preparation and submission of the pre-qualification documents.
Addresses
Address 1:
BVI Electricity Corporation
Telephone: (284) 852-4600
bviecmicrogridQandA@bvielectricity.com
Address 2:
BVI Electricity Corporation
Telephone: (284) 852-4600