INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR THE OUASSA BABOUTÉ AGRO-INDUSTRIAL REFERENCE TECHNOLOGICAL PARK

The Government of Cameroon, represented by the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, the awarding authority hereinafter referred to as “the Public Partner”, launches an International Public Call for Expressions of Interest (APMI) with the aim of selecting a Promoter (independent companies or groups of companies) within the meaning of Law N°2013/011 of 16 December 2013 governing économie zones in Cameroon. The Promoter shall support the Government of the Republic of Cameroon in setting up the Ouassa Babouté agro-industrial reference technological park (Technopole) following the “smart city” model.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The project consists of the création of a high-tech Processing industrial zone with a high-level research and development center able to host world-class researchers. It will include a support infrastructure for businesses and producers of raw materials as well as a commercial and business service zone. The project will also contribute to put in place an inclusive development System integrating production basins located in rural areas and based on innovation accelerators. The park will process several spéculations identified in the technical studies. It will equally be built as a technological tourism center.

MISSIONS ASSIGNED TO THE PROMOTER

The Promoter shall:

Finance the project in PPP mode;
Develop detailed engineering and architectural plans;
Provide the park with the basic infrastructure to house high-tech companies and a high-level R&D center;
Provide the park with a procedure manual for its operation and management.

The promoter shall hâve expertise in the three main components of the project: civil engineering, equipment and infrastructure management.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

In accordance with the legal framework of partnership contracts in force in Cameroon, the information of which is available on the website www.ppp-cameroun.cm of the Support Council for the Realization of Partnership Contracts (CARPA), the procedure forselecting a Private Partner includes the following steps:

The launching of the Call for Expressions of Interest to establish a short list of not more than 5 (Five) candidates to participate in the next stage of the Restricted Call for Tenders;
The Limited Call for Tenders laying down the compétition rules and the composition of the tenderfile;
The évaluation and analysis of offers by the spécial Commission on partnership contracts responsible for drafting a qualification report in order of merit;
The pre-qualification dialogue which consists of a consultation to define with each pre- selected candidate the appropriate technical, legal and financial means for the achievement of the project;
The submission of final bids by the pre-selected candidates following the pre-qualification dialogue. These final bids will be examined and analyzed by the spécial commission on partnership contracts responsible for drafting the pre-qualification report and establishing the final ranking of the candidates in order of merit;
The provisional tenderer will be appointed on the basis of the pre-qualification report and invited to negotiate the terms of the contract;
The préparation of a draft partnership contract to be signed by both parties following CARPA’s notice of no objection.

It should be noted that the provisional tenderer, whether they are Cameroonians or foreigners, must create a company under Cameroonian law specifically dedicated to the project before the conclusion of the partnership contract. Preference will be given to groups of companies.

The Public Partner shall hâve the right to modify the Call for Expressions of Interest procedure at any time, where necessary. In this case, he shall inform ail bidders on the changes and modifications made.

The conditions for the stages following the Call for Expressions of Interest shall be specified later.

This APMI is open to any company or group of companies with expérience in the financing, development, equipment, operation and management of référencé agro-industrial technology parks (Technopole) in public-private partnership, including concession.

Bidders may be an independent company or a group of companies. The word “Bidder” shall refer to the leader when it is a group.

TENDERFILE

The tender file to be submitted by each bidder shall be composed as follows:

Administrative file;
Financial référencés ;
Technical référencés ;
Mastery of the project.

The administrative file

The administrative file shall include:

A letter of Expression of Interest duly signed by the legal représentative of the applicant or the représentative in the case of a grouping (cf. model attached to the file);
A report on the applicant’s honor (see model attached to the file);
A solidarity report in the event of a grouping (see model attached to the file);
A general présentation of the applicant and of each member of the group, where applicable (cf. model attached to the file);
A certified copy of the company’s up-to-date articles of association and its trade register (or équivalent document issued in the country of the applicant and that of each member of the consortium where applicable).

Financial references

Bidders must justify their expérience in financing projects of the same nature.

Financial references shall include:

The amounts raised for similar projects in past expériences;
The financing capacity (bank balances, liquid assets, crédit line, etc.);
A table summarizing the company’s main financial data for the last five (05) financial years (see model attached to the file);

♦> The company’s audited and certified accounts for the last five (05) accounting years (including appendices);

♦> The original of the company’s certificate of non-bankruptcy (or équivalent document in the applicant’s country);

References of banks and/or financial institutions ready to support the applicant

Technical references

Bidders shall submit a document allowing to assess their expérience and technical capacities. This document should highlight:

❖ The présentation of human and material resources following the patterns attached in appendices;

♦> The présentation of the development work of similar projects carried out,

Masteryof the project

Under this part, each bidder shall submit:

a brief description of their understanding of the financing, development, equipment, operation and management of the Ouassa Babouté agro-industrial référencé technology park (Technopole), in partnership with the Government of Cameroon represented by the Ministry

of Mines, Industry and Technological Development.

♦> A methodological note indicating how the bidder plans to manage the operation and management phase of the agro-industrial référencé technological park (Technopole) and raise the necessary resources;

♦> a summary description of the investments they intend to make as part of the implémentation of the project;

❖ Operating and management performance indicators for the référencé agro-industrial technological park (Technopole).

The tender file and ail potential correspondence must be drafted in French and English.

Submission of bids

For each of the languages, the tender file consisting of a, b, c and d sealed envelopes placed in another closed and sealed outer envelope, must be deposited against receipt at the following address: Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development: Central Mailing Service, on the 1 st floor of the Pink Building, room 155 not later than 90 days from the date of

publication of this APMI at 15:00 p.m., local time.

Each envelope (a, b, c and d) shall contain seven (07) copies, including One (1) original initialed and six (06) copies. The initialed original must be clearly labelled ‘original’ to distinguish it from copies. In case of discrepancy between the original and a copy, the original shall prevail.

The sealed outer ply shall be marked only as follows:

FOR THE SELECTION OF COMPANIES OR GROUPS OF COMPANIES TO SUPPORT THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON IN THE FINANCING, DEVELOPMENT,
EQUIPMENT, OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE OUASSA BABOUTE AGRO-
INDUSTRIAL REFERENCE TECHNOLOGY PARK (TECHNOPOLE)

“TO BE OPENED ONLY DURING THE OPENING OF BIDS”

Tender files must be submitted in English and French.

Bids received after the bid closing date and time shall be rejected.

OPENING OF BIDS

Bids submitted within the deadline shall be opened by the commission set up for this purpose. The opening of bids shall take place in public on the date and time communicated to bidders in written notices.

After the opening of bids and the identification of bidders in public session, the commission shall proceed to the vérification of the conformity of the files (tender file présentation condition, presence of the requested documents and respect of the models).

Files deemed non-compliant may be rejected. If the Commission deems it appropriate and necessary, it may ask the bidder(s) concemed to provide the missing documents or any other additional information or document. In this case, the candidate concerned shail be required to reply to the commission within the prescribed time limit.

The minutes of the opening of bids shall provide the list of compilant files and shall mention the possible reasons for the non-admissibility of the other files. It shall be prepared and signed by ail members of the Commission and by the représentatives of bidders présent.

After the signing of the minutes, the Chairman of the Commission shall adjourn the public session and the rest of the Commission’s work shall continue in caméra.

APPLICATION ANALYSIS

The Commission shall analyze each bid in orderto assess and classify bidders on the basis of their technical and financial capacity to ensure the financing, development, equipment, operation and management of the Ouassa Babouté agro-industrial référencé technological park (Technopole) under good conditions.

Bids shall be evaluated and rated on the basis of the following criteria:

General présentation of the tender………………………………………………………. …. ……. 10 marks

Mastery of the project………………………………………………………………. … ……………. 20 marks

Bidder’s technical référencés ….. ……………………….. ………………………………………. …. .40 marks

Bidder’s financial capacities ……………………………………………………………………………. 30 marks

ACQUISITION OF TENDER DOCUMENT

Bidders can obtain the tender document free of charge at the Department of Technological Development and Industrial Property (DDTPI) from the date of publication of the Call for Expression of Interest. The document can also be downloaded from the websites of the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development; www.minmidt.cm, that of the Technopole project: www.technor.cm and CARPA: www.ppp-cameroun.cm.

The secrétariat appointed for this purpose shall draw up and keep up to date the list of bidders with the contact details given during the acquisition of the tender document.

RESULT NOTIFICATION

At the end of the évaluation of the application files, a maximum of five (05) candidates will be selected who will be invited to participate in the next stage of the restricted invitation to tender.

Ail applicants who hâve submitted an application will be informed in writing of the results of the évaluation.

**» .

The conditions for participation in the next stage will be specified in the restricted invitation to tender file which will be given to the candidates concerned.

APPLICABLE LAW

This procedure is subject to the laws and rules in force in Cameroon, including the legal framework of partnership contracts.

COST

Each candidate is responsible for ail costs related to the préparation and submission of his/her application.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Any candidate wishing further clarification or information of a technical nature should contact the Department of Technological Development and Industrial Property (DDTPI) located in Ngousso, behind the Hôtel le Paradis (or write to the following email addresses: ddtpi@minmidt.cm or ndjalibeng@gmail.com), at the latest one week before the deadline for submission of applications.