1. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has signed an Agreement with Islamic Development Bank (IDB) hereinafter, referred to as the ‘Fund’ towards the cost of implementing the Rehabilitation of Doshi-Pol E Khumri Existing Road and intends to apply a part of the proceeds of this Loan to eligible payments under the Contract for Rehabilitation of Doshi-Pol E Khumri Existing Road (51.98 Km) Bidding is open to all qualified bidders from eligible source countries. Please refer clause 3.1(a) of Section 2: Instructions to Bidders (ITB) of the bidding documents. 2. The Afghanistan Reconstruction and Development Services (ARDS), acting on behalf of the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ("the Employer") invites sealed bids from eligible Bidders for the Rehabilitation of Doshi-Pol E Khumri Existing Road (51.98 Km) :MPW/830/IDB/ICB. The Works include: 1. Removal of defected asphalted surface of the road from Km 0.+00.00 to the end km 51+98. 2. Full Construction of road where the road is damaged by flood. 3. Rehabilitation and widening of the road inside the city of Pol E Khumri as specified in the bidding document. 4. Repair and reconstruction of concrete structures as specified in the bidding document. 5. Construction of new bridges. 6. Renewal of asphalting pavement of the road and strengthening of its shoulder. 7. Furnishing of road furnitures and road marking. 8. Protection of river bank as specified in the bidding document. 9. Clearing and grubbing of road. 10. Clearing and repairing of side drainage. International competitive bidding will be conducted in accordance with IDB's single stage single-envelope bidding procedure. 3. A complete set of Bidding Documents in English may be obtained by interested bidders by downloading the same from the ARDS website www.ards.org.af or may obtain in flash from the ARDS office ( address given below). In case of any difficulty in downloading from website, interested bidders may contact at e-mail address ards.procurement@ards.org.af. Bidding Documents will be sent electronically. Bidders may inspect a set of the bidding documents in hard copy at the address stated below between the hours of 09:00 and 16:00 on Saturdays to Thursdays. ARDS will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by Bidders in connection with the preparation or delivery of Bids. For clarification purposes only, the Employer’s address is: Afghanistan Reconstruction and Development Services (ARDS) Ministry of Economy Building 4th and 5th Floor Malik Asghar Square Kabul, Afghanistan Contact Persons: Anjani Kumar and Masoud Qasime Phone: 0093 (O) 786207234 / 0093 (0) 78 6353 842 E-mail: anjani.kumar@ards.org.af or massoud.qasime@ards.org.af 4. Qualifications of bidders to perform the contract will be examined on the basis of the following minimum requirements. (a) Average annual turnover in construction work, during the last five years should be equivalent of USD 22 million. (information to be provided in form Fin-2 of Section-8, Volume I of bid document) (b) Successful experience as prime contractor, management contractor, partner in a joint venture, or subcontractor, in the execution of at least one project of value 15 M USD and of a nature and complexity comparable to this works within the last five years. (information to be provided in form Exp-2(a) of Section-8, Volume I of bid document) (c) Proposals for timely acquisition (own, lease, hire, etc. ) of the following essential Contractor’s equipment: List of equipment required are enclosed in Annexure 1 of Section -3. (information to be provided in form EQU of Section-8, Volume I of bid document) (d) A project manager with 10 years experience in works of a comparable nature and complexity, including not less than five years as manager, A pavement engineer, a structural engineer and quality control engineer with at least 10 years working experience in his provision.(details to be provided in form Per-2 of Section-8, Volume I of bid document) (e) Liquid assets and/or evidence of access to or availability of credit facilities of no less than USD 5 Million. (Information to be provided in form Fin-3 of Section-8, Volume I of bid document) 5. The Bidder shall provide accurate information on any litigation or arbitration resulting from contracts completed or under execution by them over the last five years. Claims, arbitration or other litigation proceedings pending or already resolved, with a possible impact of more than 50 per cent of the Bidder’s net worth shall be a ground for declaring the Bidder not qualified for the award of the contract. 6. Bids must be delivered at or before 14:00 hrs on July 2, 2008 at the address stated below. Afghanistan Reconstruction and Development Services (ARDS) Ministry of Economy Building 4th and 5th Floor Malik Asghar Square, Kabul, Afghanistan Late bids shall be rejected 7. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security of US$ 450, 000 or an equivalent amount in a freely convertible currency. Bid security shall remain valid for 28 days beyond the validity of bid i.e. up to 148 days from the date of bid submission (i.e. up to November 27, 2008). 8. Bids will be opened at the same time and date as the target bid submission time and date, and at the same place that of bid submission, mentioned above. 9. A margin of domestic preference is applicable.