SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Morocco: Feasibility Study : Olive Oil Waste Treatment Project
- Notice Date
- 12/27/2005
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- United States Trade and Development Agency, USTDA, USTDA, 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, C/O US TDA 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, Arlington, VA, 22209-3901
- ZIP Code
- 22209-3901
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-0621002A
- Response Due
- 2/21/2006
- Archive Date
- 3/8/2006
- Description
- POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, Arlington, VA 22209-3901, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT CONTRACTS OFFICE; PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PLACE: Mr. Ahmed Belkheiri, Directeur, Agence du Bassin Hydraulique du Sebou, Angle Rue Ahmed Chaouki and Abou Alae Al Maari, BP 2101, F?s, Morocco, Phone: + (212) 55-64-29-79, Fax: + (212) 55-64-04-44. Morocco: Olive Oil Waste Treatment Feasibility Study. The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to conduct a Feasibility Study on the treatment of olive oil wastes in Morocco. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has provided a grant to the Grantee, the Agence du Bassin Hydraulique du Sebou, to fund the cost of a Feasibility Study to conduct economic, technical, financial and regulatory analyses to develop the most appropriate technical solution for the treatment of olive oil waste in Morocco. The Agence du Bassin Hydraulique du Sebou, is under the supervision of the Moroccan Ministry of Environment and Water, Regional Planning. It was created in 2002 as a publicly owned company equipped with an independent legal authority and financial autonomy. Agence du Bassin Hydraulique du Sebou is responsible for the development and management of the hydraulic public domain of the Sebou River basin and regional water resources. The company collaborates with the Moroccan National Office of Potable Water on issues concerning potable water, while, Agence du Bassin Hydraulique du Sebou maintains ultimate authority for the Sebou River watershed area. The Government of Morocco has recently begun implementing stricter environmental laws to improve the country?s management of wastewater discharges in an effort to more effectively address water scarcity issues. Enforcement actions have also been increased to comply with European Union (EU) environmental regulations, which require certification that exporters of food products meet strict standards for the treatment of wastewater. Additionally, King Mohammed VI has ordered the cleanup of major industrial wastewater facilities in the north of the country. In response to these actions, there is a concerted effort amongst the Moroccan private and public sector to comply with these requirements in order to get potable water to communities affected by water scarcity. To provide potable water to these areas, the Government of Morocco is looking at technologies, such as nitrate removal, and desalinization. These actions create significant opportunities for U.S. exporters of goods and services in the wastewater treatment sector, as the United States is the leader in tertiary wastewater treatment technologies. The Government of Morocco has allocated funds to apply to infrastructure improvements in the wastewater treatment sector, such as the Olive Oil Waste Treatment project. The U.S.-Morocco FTA also facilitates financing and eliminates costs associated with the implementation of this project. Approximately 100 production facilities and 4,000 traditional processing units in the basin of the Sebou River produce olive oil on a seasonal basis by pressing semi-processed olives (which must be salted or otherwise treated in order to improve their palatability). The semi-solid wastes, known as ?margines,? which are left over as a result of this process amount to more than 2,000 tons of olive oil waste per day. Presently the factories near F?s (in the north of Morocco) place the waste in holding ponds, which were designed to allow evaporation and then removal of the dried waste. However, evaporation is not occurring, most likely because of the limited surface area of the ponds and the characteristics of the waste that both contribute to the creation of a large oil component, which remains with the waste. This oil component forms a layer at the surface of the ponds, which seals in the waste and prevents evaporation. Additionally, olive oil producers must transport their wastes to the ponds via trucks, but many producers do not comply with this regulation because it is not enforced and therefore a significant amount of margines are left completely untreated. In both instances, with the waste brought to the ponds or with waste left untreated, the margines are extremely high in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), a measure of their ability to utilize oxygen in the receiving waters. The consequences of the introduction of these wastes into the Sebeu River include damage to aquatic life and the contribution to the loss of the Sebeu River, the largest river in Morocco, as a source of drinking water. These margines also have the potential to seriously disrupt the operation of a new wastewater treatment facility planned in F?s, Morocco. The margines are but one of many sources of BOD and there is a strong need to start addressing these issues and begin to more effectively limit the level of BOD in waste products. As mentioned above, the need to certify that Moroccan food product manufacturers meet strict standards for the treatment of wastewater in order to export to the EU is driving the private sector, which owns the olive oil manufacturing facilities, to address these issues. The GOM, through the Agence du Bassin Hydraulique du Sebou, is acting as an umbrella group to oversea the management of this problem in particular, and the problems of the Sebou River in general. This project represents a first step in addressing water issues on the Sebou River, which has had heavy pollution for many years and which has been identified for at least two decades as needing environmental management solutions. This Feasibility Study would act as a blueprint for handling margines throughout the Sebou River watershed and for other margines-producing areas, such as Marrakech. The Olive Oil Waste Treatment project would improve environmental conditions in Morocco and promote optimal use of existing water resources. Specifically, this project will result in the transfer of advanced waste management techniques such as biogas production, increased water efficiency, and improved productivity by reducing the need to treat this water before it is used for agricultural irrigation. The project will also allow new industry sub-sectors to develop, including waste management services and biogas production systems. This Feasibility Study would provide Agence du Bassin Hydraulique du Sebeu with consulting services on: (1) Analytical overview of the Moroccan olive oil industry and the margines management systems currently employed; (2) Technical analysis; (3) Analysis of treatment methods to be utilized at the two pilot sites; (4) Implementation plan; (5) Regulatory review; (6) Economic analysis; (7) Financial analysis; (8) Environmental analysis; (9) Proposed goods and services; (10) Development impact assessment; (11) Develop bidding packages for each pilot site; (12) Provide direct assistance to strengthen Moroccan margines management capacities through education, public awareness, and inspections; and (13) Final report. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $322,000 grant to the Grantee from USTDA. A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background definitional mission report are available from USTDA, at 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, Arlington, VA 22209-3901. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, USTDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm?s name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want USTDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to USTDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to USTDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, USTDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mail room before calling USTDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this USTDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under USTDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the USTDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the USTDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the USTDA grant amount. Details of USTDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in French and the abstract in English directly to the Grantee by 12:00 noon, February 21, 2006 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals.
- Record
- SN00958814-W 20051229/051227211944 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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