PROCUREMENT OF WORKS Section 1 - Instructions to Bidders

A. General

1. Scope of Bid The Employer as defined in the Bidding Data invites Bids for the
construction of Works, as described in Section 5, Bidding Data.

The successful bidder will be expected to complete the Works by the

Intended Completion Date specified in the Bidding Data.

Bids should be submitted in the forms available from the office given
in the Bidding Data on a payment of a non-refundable fee given in the
Bidding Data. Forms can be collected until the date given in the
Bidding Data.

2. Source of Funds
2.1 Works will be financed by the source given in Bidding Data.

3. Ethics, Fraud 3.1 The attention of the bidders is drawn to the following guidelines of
and Corruption the Procurement Guidelines published by National Procurement
Agency:

 Parties associated with procurement actions, namely,

suppliers/contractors and officials shall ensure that they maintain
strict confidentiality throughout the process;

 Officials shall refrain from receiving any personal gain from

any Procurement Action. No gifts or inducement shall be
accepted. Suppliers/contractors are liable to be disqualified from
the bidding process if found offering any gift or inducement
which may have an effect of influencing a decision or impairing
the objectivity of an official.

3.2 The attention of the bidders is also drawn to the Sub-Clause 59.2(g)
of the Conditions of Contract (Section 3) which shall apply to any
bidder.

4. Eligibility and Eligibility

Qualification of
the Bidder 4.1 The bidder shall not be a blacklisted contractor at the time of bidding
and at the time of award of contract.

4.2 Domestic Bidders should hold a valid registration with the Institute
for Construction Training and Development (ICTAD) under the grade
and specialty given in the Bidding Data, Section 5 at the time of
submission of Bids. To qualify for contract award the successful
bidder should hold a valid registration as above at the time of award.

Qualification Requirements

4.3 All bidders shall provide in Section 4 - Form of Bid and

Qualification Information the information requested in the Bidding
Data.

4.4 To qualify for award of the Contract, bidders shall meet the minimum
qualifying criteria if given in Section 5 – Bidding Data.

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PROCUREMENT OF WORKS Section 1 - Instructions to Bidders

5. One Bid per 5.1 Each bidder shall submit only one Bid, either individually or as a
Bidder partner in a joint venture. A bidder who submits or participates in
more than one Bid (other than as a subcontractor or in cases of
alternatives that have been permitted or requested) will cause all the
proposals with the bidder’s participation to be disqualified.

6. Cost of Bidding The bidder shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and
submission of his Bid, and the Employer will in no case be
responsible or liable for those costs regardless of the conduct or
outcome of the bidding process.

7. Site Visit The bidder, at the bidder’s own responsibility and risk, is encouraged
to visit and examine the Site of Works and its surroundings and obtain
all information that may be necessary for preparing the Bid and
entering into a contract for construction of the Works. The costs of
visiting the Site shall be at the bidder’s own expense.

B. Bidding Documents

8. Content of 8.1 The set of bidding documents comprises the documents listed below
Bidding and addenda issued in accordance with Clause 10:
Documents
Volume 1:
Section 1 Instructions to Bidders
Section 2 Standard Forms [Contract]
Section 3 Conditions of Contract

Volume 2:
Invitation to Bid
Section 4 Form of Bid and Qualification Information
Section 5 Bidding Data and Contract Data
Section 6. Specifications
Section 7. Bills of Quantities
Section 8 Drawings
Section 9 Standard Forms [Bid]

9. Clarification of 9.1 A prospective bidder requiring any clarification of the bidding

Bidding documents may notify the Employer in writing at the Employer’s
Documents address indicated given in the Bidding Data. The Employer will
respond to any such request for clarification received 10 Days prior
to the deadline for submission of Bids. Copies of the Employer’s
response will be forwarded to all purchasers of the bidding
documents, including a description of the inquiry, but without
identifying its source.

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PROCUREMENT OF WORKS Section 1 - Instructions to Bidders

10. Amendment of
10.1 Before the deadline for submission of Bids, the Employer may
Bidding modify the bidding documents by issuing addenda.
Documents
10.2 Any addendum thus issued shall be a part of the bidding documents
and shall be communicated in writing (to be acknowledged in writing)
to all those who have purchased the bidding documents.

10.3 Prospective bidders shall be given a reasonable time of not less than
07 Days to enable them to prepare their Bids in accordance with the
addenda.

C. Preparation of Bids

11. Language of 11.1 All documents relating to the Bid shall be in the language stated in
Bid the Bidding Data.

12. Documents 12.1 The Bid submitted by the bidder shall comprise the following:
Comprising
the Bid (A) enclosed in the envelope marked as “ORIGINAL” ;
(a) the Form of Bid and Qualification Information (in the format
indicated in Section 4, and Qualification Information)
(b) Bid Security or Bid-Securing Declaration as specified
(c) Bidding Data and Contract Data
(d) Specifications
(e) Drawings
(f) Priced Bills of Quantities
(g) if alternative offers are invited, such offers shall contain
adequate information for evaluation. However the main offer
of the Contractor must conform to the bidding documents
(h) any other information required to be completed and
submitted by bidders, as specified in the Bidding Data
and
(B) enclosed in the envelope marked as “COPY”
(a) the Form of Bid and Qualification Information (in the format
indicated in Section 4, and Qualification Information)
(b) priced Bills of Quantities
(c) if alternative offers are invited, such offers shall contain
adequate information for evaluation; and
(d) any other information required to be completed and
submitted by bidders, as specified in the Bidding Data.

13. Bid Prices 13.1 The Contract shall be for the whole of the Works, as described in
Sub-Clause 1.1, based on the priced Bills of Quantities submitted by
the bidder.

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13.2 The bidder shall fill in rates and prices for all items of the Works
described in the Bill of Quantities. Items for which no rate or price
is entered by the bidder will not be paid for by the Employer when
executed and shall be deemed covered by the other rates and prices
in the Bills of Quantities.

13.3 All duties, taxes, and other levies payable by the Contractor under
the Contract, or for any other cause, as of the date 28 Days prior to
the deadline for submission of Bids, shall be included in the rates,
prices, and total bid price submitted by the bidder. However, VAT
shall not be included in the rates or prices but shall be shown
separately at the space provided in the BOQ

13.4 The Contract Price shall be subjected to adjustment during the

performance of the Contract if provided in the Bidding Data.

14. Currencies 14.1 The unit rates and prices shall be quoted by the bidder entirely in Sri
of Bid Lanka Rupees unless otherwise provided in the Bidding Data.

15. Bid Validity 15.1 Bids shall remain valid up to the date specified in the Bidding Data.
A bid valid for a shorter period shall be rejected by the Employer.

15.2 In exceptional circumstances, the Employer may request that the

bidders extend the period of validity for a specified additional period.
The request and the bidders’ responses shall be made in writing. A
bidder may refuse the request. A bidder agreeing to the request will
not be required or permitted to otherwise modify the Bid, but will be
required to extend the validity of the Bid and bid security for the
period of the extension, and in compliance with Clause 16 in all
respects. If a bidder does not agree for an unconditional extension of
the validity of his Bid, his Bid shall be rejected without forfeiting the
bid security or executing the bid-securing declarion as appropriate.

16. Bid Security and 16.1 The bidder shall furnish as part of its Bid, a bid security or a bid-
Bid-Securing securing declaration as specified in the Bidding Data in the format
Declaration given in Section 9.

16.2 If a bid security is selected under 16.1 above, the bid security shall be
in the amount specified in the Bidding Data and shall be valid up to
the date specified in the Bidding Data, from an agency acceptable to
the Employer.

16.3 Any bid not accompanied by a substantially responsive bid security

or bid-securing declaration in accordance with this clause, shall be
rejected by the Employer.

16.4 The bid security or the bid-securing declaration of unsuccessful

bidders shall be returned promptly upon the successful bidder
furnishing the performance security.

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16.5 The bid security may be forfeited or the bid–securing declaration

executed:

(a) if a bidder withdraws its bid during the period of bid

validity specified by the bidder on the Form of Bid; or

(b) if the bidder does not accept the correction of its bid
price pursuant to ITB Sub-Clause 27; or

(c) if the successful bidder fails within the specified

time to:
(i) sign the Contract; or
(ii) furnish the required performance security .

17. Pre-Bid 17.1 The bidder’s designated representative is invited to attend a pre-bid
Meeting meeting which, if convened and stated so in the Bidding Data, will
take place at the venue and time stipulated in the Bidding Data. The
minutes of such pre-bid meeting shall be made available to all
bidders within a reasonable time prior to the closing date of the Bid.
Such minutes should be included by the bidder in his Bid.

17.2 The purpose of the meeting will be to clarify issues and to answer
questions on any matter that may be raised at that stage. The bidder is
requested, as far as possible, to submit any questions in writing or by
fax to reach the Employer not later than one week before the meeting.
It may not be practicable at the meeting to answer questions received
late.

18. Format and 18.1 The bidder shall prepare one original of the documents comprising
Signing of Bid the Bid as described in Clause 12 of these Instructions to Bidders, and
clearly marked “ORIGINAL.” In addition, the bidder shall submit a
copy of the bid, which is clearly marked as a “COPY.” In the event
of discrepancy between them, the original shall prevail.

18.2 The original and the copy of the Form of Bid shall be typed or written
in indelible ink and shall be signed by a person or persons duly
authorized to sign on behalf of the bidder. All pages of the Bid where
entries or amendments have been made shall be initialed by the
person or persons signing the Bid.

18.3 The Bid shall contain no alterations or additions, except those to

comply with instructions issued by the Employer, or as necessary to
correct errors made by the bidder, in which case such corrections
shall be initialed by the person or persons signing the Bid.

D. Submission of Bids

19. Sealing and The bidder shall seal the original and the copy of the Bid in two
Marking of separate inner envelopes and one outer envelope, duly marking the
Bids inner envelopes as “ORIGINAL” and “COPY”.

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The inner and outer envelopes shall;

(a) be addressed to the Employer at the address provided in the

Bidding Data;

(b) bear the name and identification number of the Contract as

defined in the Bidding Data;

(c) include the name an address of the bidder; and

(d) provide a warning not to open before the specified time and date
for bid opening as defined in the Bidding Data.

19.3 If the outer envelope is not sealed and marked as above, the
Employer will assume no responsibility for the misplacement or
premature opening of the bid.

20. Deadline for 20.1 Bids shall be delivered to the Employer at the address specified
Submission of above no later than the time and date specified in the Bidding Data.
Bids
20.2 The Employer may extend the deadline for submission of Bids by
issuing an addendum in accordance with Clause 10, in which case all
rights and obligations of the Employer and the bidders previously
subject to the original deadline will then be subjected to the new
deadline.

21. Late Bids 21.1 Any Bid received by the Employer after the deadline prescribed in
Clause 20 will be returned unopened to the bidder.

22. Modification and

22.1 Bidders may modify, or withdraw their bids by giving notice in
Withdrawal of writing before the deadline prescribed in Clause 20.
Bids
22.2 The bidder’s modification or withdrawal notice shall be prepared,
sealed, marked, and delivered in accordance with Clauses 18 and 19,
with the outer and inner envelopes additionally marked
“MODIFICATION” or “WITHDRAWAL,” as appropriate.

22.3 No Bid may be modified after the deadline for submission of bids.

22.4 Withdrawal of a bid between the deadline for submission of bids and
the expiration of the period of bid validity specified in the Bidding
Data or as extended pursuant to sub clause 15.2 may result in the
forfeiture of the bid security pursuant to clause 16.

22.5 Bidders may only offer discounts to, or otherwise modify the prices
of their bids by submitting bid modifications in accordance with this
clause, or included in the original bid submission.

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E. Bid Opening and Evaluation

23. Bid Opening 23.1 The Employer will open the bids, including modifications made
pursuant to Clause 22, in the presence of the bidders’ authorized
representatives who choose to attend at the time and in the place
specified in the Bidding Data. The bidders’ representatives who are
present shall sign their attendance.

23.2 Envelopes marked “WITHDRAWAL” shall be opened and read out

first. Bids for which an acceptable notice of withdrawal has been
submitted pursuant to Clause 22 shall not be opened.

23.3 The envelope marked as “Original” will be opened. If no envelope is

marked as “Original” the Employer may open one of the envelopes.
If the required documents are available in that envelope, Employer
may mark it as the “Original” and the unopened envelope as the
“Copy”. If so the envelope marked as copy will remain unopened.
If any of the required document is missing in the envelope opened
first, the Employer may open the other envelope to search such
missing information transfer such documents to one envelope and
mark it as “Original” and resealed the other envelope and mark as
“Copy”.

23.4 The bidders’ names, the bid prices, or any discounts, Bid
modifications and withdrawals, the presence or absence of bid
security / bid security declaration and such other details as the
Employer may consider appropriate, will be announced by the
Employer at the opening. No bid shall be rejected at bid opening
except late bids.

23.5 After announcing and completing the other procedures, the Employer
shall reseal all the opened envelopes in the presence of the bidder’s
representatives.

24. Process to be 24.1 Information relating to the examination, clarification, evaluation, and
Confidential comparison of bids and recommendations for the award of a contract
shall not be disclosed to bidders or any other persons not officially
concerned with such process until the award to the successful bidder
has been announced. Any effort by a bidder to influence the
Employer’s processing of bids or award decisions may result in the
rejection of his bid.

25. Clarification 25.1

of To assist in the examination, evaluation, and comparison of Bids, the
Bids Employer may, at the Employer’s discretion, ask any bidder for
clarification of the bidder’s Bid, including breakdowns of unit rates.
The request for clarification and the response shall be in writing but
no change in the price or substance of the Bid shall be sought,
offered, or permitted except as required to confirm the correction of
arithmetic errors discovered by the Employer in the evaluation of the
Bids in accordance with Clause 27.

26. Examination 26.1

of Prior to the detailed evaluation of Bids, the Employer will determine
Bids and whether each Bid (a) meets the eligibility criteria defined in the
Determination bidding document; (b) has been properly signed; (c) is accompanied
of by the required securities; and (d) is substantially responsive to the
Responsiveness requirements of the bidding documents.

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26.2 A substantially responsive bid is one which conforms to all the terms,
conditions, and specifications of the bidding documents, without
material deviation or reservation. A material deviation or reservation
is one (a) which limits in any substantial way the scope, quality, or
performance of the Works; (b) which limits in any substantial way,
inconsistent with the bidding documents, the Employer's rights or the
bidder's obligations under the Contract; or (c) whose rectification
would affect unfairly the competitive position of other bidders
presenting substantially responsive bids; (d) a bid which proposes an
alternative where not allowed to do so.

26.3 26.3 If a bid is not substantially responsive, it will be rejected by the

Employer, and may not subsequently be made responsive by
correction or withdrawal of the nonconforming deviation or
reservation.

27. Correction of 27.1 Bids determined to be substantially responsive will be checked by the
Errors Employer for any arithmetic errors. Errors will be corrected by the
Employer as follows:

(a) where there is a discrepancy between the amounts in figures and in

words, the amount in words will govern; and

(b) where there is a discrepancy between the unit rate and the line item
total resulting from multiplying the unit rate by the quantity, the unit
rate as quoted will govern, unless there is an obvious gross
misplacement of the decimal point in the unit rate, in which case the
line item total as quoted will govern, and the unit rate will be
corrected.

(c) if the bid price changes by the above procedure, the amount stated in
the Form of Bid shall be adjusted with the concurrence of the Bidder
and shall be considered as binding upon the bidder.

(d) if the bidder does not accept the corrected amount of bid, its bid
shall be rejected and the bid security shall be forfeited or
bid security declaration shall be executed in accordance with
Clause 16.

28. Currency for Not used unless specified in Bidding Data.

Bid Evaluation

29. Evaluation and 29.1 The Employer will evaluate and compare only the Bids determined to
Comparison of be substantially responsive.
Bids
29.2 In evaluating the bids, the Employer will determine for each bid the
evaluated bid price by adjusting the bid price as follows:
(a) excluding provisional sums and the provision, if any, for
contingencies in the Bills of Quantities, but including Dayworks,
where priced competitively;

(b) making any correction for errors pursuant to Clause 27;

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(c) making appropriate adjustments as described below to reflect

discounts or other price modifications offered in accordance with
Sub-Clause 22.5.
i. If discounts are offered to limited items it should be
applicable to such items;
ii. If the discount offered is to the total bid price as a
percentage it should be applicable to all the items at the
percentage discount offered, excluding for contingencies
and provisional sum items before the contract award all
rates and prices shall be adjusted to suit the discount;
iii. If the discount offered is to the total bid price as a lump
sum, such lump sum amount should be considered for
evaluation and before the award of contract such lump
sum amount shall be uniformly distributed to all the
items, excluding for contingencies and provisional sums.
(d) making an appropriate adjustment for any other acceptable
variations, deviations.
(e) converting to a common currency if appropriate.

29.3 The Employer reserves the right to accept or reject any variation,
deviation, or alternative offer. Variations, deviations, and alternative
offers and other factors which are in excess of the requirements of the
bidding documents or otherwise result in unsolicited benefits for the
Employer will not be taken into account in bid evaluation.

29.4 The estimated effect of any price adjustment conditions under Clause
47 of the Conditions of Contract, during the period of implementation
of the Contract, will not be taken into account in bid evaluation.

29.5 If the Employer determines that the bid is unbalanced and hence the
bidder may fail in the performance of his obligations in some items
within the quoted rates, a higher performance security as determined
by the Employer may be requested to mitigate such risks

30. Preference for Not used unless specified in Bidding Data.

Domestic
Bidders

F. Award of Contract

31. Award of 31.1 Subject to procedures if provided under Sub-Clause 31.1 under
Contract Bidding Data and subject to Clause 31.2 and Clause 32 below, the
Employer will award the Contract to the bidder whose Bid has been
determined to be substantially responsive to the bidding documents
and who has offered the lowest evaluated bid price, provided that
such bidder has been determined to be eligible and qualified in
accordance with the provisions of the bidding document.

31.2 Even though the bidders meet the eligibility and qualification criteria
specified they are subjected to disqualify if they have:

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(a) made misleading or false representation in the forms, statements

and attachments submitted in proof of the eligibility and
qualification requirements; or
(b) participated in fraud and corrupt practice.
(c) record of poor performance in previous contracts, such as
abandoning the works, inordinate delays resulted in payment of
liquidated damages up to the maximum limit specified in the
contract etc;

32. Employer’s 32.1 The Employer reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, and to
Right to cancel the bidding process and reject all Bids, at any time prior to the
Accept any Bid award of Contract, without thereby incurring any liability to the
and to Reject affected bidder or bidders or any obligation to inform the affected
any or all Bids bidder or bidders of the grounds for the Employer’s action.

33. Notification of 33.1 Prior to expiration of the bid validity period, the Employer will notify
Award and the successful bidder that his bid has been accepted. This letter
Signing of (hereinafter and in the Conditions of Contract called the "Letter of
Agreement Acceptance") will state the sum that the Employer will pay the
Contractor in consideration of the execution, completion, and
maintenance of the Works by the Contractor as prescribed by the
Contract (hereinafter and in the Contract called the “Initial Contract
Price")

33.2 The notification of award will constitute the formation of the

Contract.

33.3 The agreement will incorporate the memorandum of understanding if

any between the Employer and the successful bidder, and shall be
signed by the Employer and the successful bidder.

33.4 Upon the furnishing by the successful bidder of the performance

security, the Employer will promptly notify the other bidders that
their bids have been unsuccessful.

33.5 At the same time that the Employer notifies the successful bidder that
its bid has been accepted, the Employer will prepare the agreement in
the form provided in the bidding documents, incorporating all
agreements between the Parties.

33.6 The Employer shall notify the successful bidder the date, time and
venue for the signing of the agreement. The agreement shall be
signed within 28 Days of the Letter of Acceptance.

34. Performance 34.1 Within 14 Days after receipt of the Letter of Acceptance, the
Security successful bidder shall deliver to the Employer a performance
security from an agency acceptable to the Employer in the form of
unconditional guarantee and in the amount stipulated in the Bidding
Data.

34.2 During the Bid evaluation if the Employer found that the rate/s or
amount/s quoted by the bidder is/are unreasonably low and could
not furnish rational justification to the Employer, the Employer may
request the bidder to furnish a performance security to an increased
amount than that specified in the Bidding Data.

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35. Advance 35.1 The Employer will provide an Advance Payment on the Initial
Payment and Contract Price subject to maximum amount as stipulated in the
Security Conditions of Contract, within 14 Days of the Contractor submitting
an acceptable guarantee.

36. Adjudicator 36.1 The Employer shall include the name of the person to be appointed
as an Adjudicator under the Contract in the Bidding Data. If the
bidder disagrees with the person named, the bidder should state so in
the Bid, in which event the Employer and the Contractor may reach
agreement on the appointment of an Adjudicator by mutual consent
within 28 Days from the Letter of Acceptance.

If mutual consent is not reached or resorted to or the Adjudicator

was not proposed then the Adjudicator shall be appointed by the
Institute for Construction Training and Development (ICTAD) at the
request of either Party after the expiry of 28 Days.

The Adjudicator shall be a person not associated with the project

directly or indirectly and who could demonstrate impartiality and
independence in his functions.

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