7.2 Invitation for interest expression and prequalification

The international best practices recommend starting the project offering process with invitation for interest expression and then the competitor prequalification.

In the cases requiring to do so, invitations for interest expression shall be sent to potential investors from the private sector to know to what extent the private sector interests in and desires to implement the project before taking any procedures for offering thereof. The project offering shall be made by announcing the project in various mass media. This announcement shall include a brief of the project, its objectives and the proposed implementation site, if any, method of sending the interested parties' reply and any other information or conditions relating to the project. Then, the project committee/concerned Federal Entity shall consider the replies to invitations for interest expression, which are submitted by the private sector. Based on this consideration, it shall be decided whether the persons interested in competing for the project implementation shall be invited for pre qualification or not.

After getting a positive and encouraging result from assessing the replies to invitations for interest expression, which are received from the potential investors from the private sector, the prequalification phase shall commence. This phase aims at making the project offering process more efficient for both parties by ensuring the participation of the appropriate candidates only in the final bids submission. The qualification conditions shall be logical, effective and do not impose unjustified restrictions reducing the level of competition. Preferably, the qualified bidders shall not less than three bidders.

The prequalification procedure ensures the following:

• Verifying that the private partner has the technical and financial qualifications enabling it to implement the project sufficiently and effectively and to meet its entire obligation under the contract.

• Avoiding wasting time in the final bid submission phase, which is basically a long phase, by excluding the inappropriate parties.

• Filtering the participants to get a reasonable number of final offers, a matter reducing the costs and efforts made in the assessment process.

a. Prequalification Document Preparation Procedures

The Project Committee shall prepare, in cooperation with the Technical Bureau, including the consultants, the prequalification document. This document provides the candidates with the required information and instructions regarding the prequalification process, and identifies clearly any evaluation standards and the process method. Moreover, it explains any special requirements and requires candidates to introduce themselves by providing the appropriate information.

b. Prequalification Document Contents

• Terms and conditions of the prequalification documents issuance.

• Objective of the prequalification document issuance

• Information about the project including, but not limited to:

Detailed description of the project, including the project overview and background and the need for it.

Specific legal requirements andrelated legal controls

Matters relating to the land, if any, or any other assets to be provided by the Federal Entity.

Specific performance standards

Specific financing standards

Summary of the expected risk distribution

Conditions of membership in alliances

• Project offering process

• Project phases and schedule

• Explanation process and memorandums

• Changes in the alliance formation

• Participation in more than one alliance

• Bid bond

• Participant instructions, including but not limited to:

The submission application form, including the obligatory elements to facilitate the assessment process

Late submission of the prequalification application

Participants status and formation

Communication policy

Additional information

Announcement of the ongoing legal procedures that may affect the alliance formation

Reasons of exclusion from qualification.

Details of communication with the project committee.

Information required from the participants

Alliance abilities and strengths

Proposed alliance formation and structure, along with clear identification of member's role.

Participants skills and experiences in similar and identical projects

Current workload of the alliance members

Strength of undertakings between the alliance members and debtors, if any.

Market and financial rank.

Shares and ownership (if any)

Implementation viability

Compliance with and ability to abide by the project schedule

Ability to borrow, increase the capital and giving guarantees

Ability to manage projects

Ability to manage risks

Evidence on understanding the project main requirements and complexities.

Previous relationship with the State

How to apply quality assurance regulations

Methodology in the partnership projects

• Assessment process, which include information about:

Assessment methodology

Assessment standards

c. Prequalification document announcement and distribution

The Project Committee announces, via its website, the official gazette, the audio-visual media and a number of local and international magazines, the prequalification process commencement and invites the interested parties, regardless whether they previously expressed their interest or not, to receive the prequalification document. The purpose of the announcement publication in popular and widespread newspapers and magazines is to attract the international investors.

The announcement shall include at least the following:

• Brief description to the project

• Project objectives

• Type and period of the PPP contract

• How to obtain the prequalification document and the period identified for that.

• How to submit the prequalification application and period set for submission. Sufficient time shall be given to meet all these requirements.

The project announcement may be followed by an open session to offer the project and motivate the private sector interest, provided that no information not included in qualification document shall be deliberated.

d. Application Receipt

The Technical Bureau shall receive the prequalification applications in day set in the prequalification document. The envelops shall be opened after expiration of the last date identified for the qualification application submission in a session that also identified in the prequalification document, in presence of the work team and the applicants' representatives. In this session, envelop contents and shortcomings shall be recorded, if any. Then, the list of the prequalification applicants shall be posted on the website.

e. Application assessment and candidate notification

The project committee, assisted by the Technical Bureau , shall study and assess the received qualification applications and shall submit a reasoned report to the Ministry, which in turn send it to the Financial and Economic Committee. Such report shall include a suggestion of the qualified and unqualified candidates' names. The application assessment shall be divided into two phases. In the first phase, the application formalities shall be verified, where the qualification documents required from each participant shall be verified in terms of validity and accurate compliance with the prequalification document requirements. Any participant fails to comply with the requirements shall be excluded.

In the second phase, an assessment table identifying the main categories and sub-categories of all assessment criteria shall be prepared. These categories shall be given relative weight according to their importance. According to that table, a mark will be given to each candidate, and the candidates exceeding the minimum mark shall be qualified. If the candidate qualification application includes a number of companies (alliance), the assessment of these applications shall be carried out based on assessing the qualification and abilities of each member of the alliance and define whether they jointly meet the qualification criteria and requirements or not, where application consideration shall be carried out according to the role of each alliance member in the project. The assessment criteria and the relative weight of each of them shall be developed during the preparation of the prequalification document. The assessment criteria shall depend on the information required from the participants. Therefore, this information shall be clear in prequalification document to help the candidates to concentrate in on their application and not to list any additional or unnecessary information. The assessment criteria vary depending on the project and shall be carefully developed for each individual project to attract an acceptable number of participants. If the criteria are strict, they may limit the number of the qualified participants and vice versa.

The Project Committee shall, in cooperation with the Technical Bureau , prepare a reasoned report on the qualification application assessment process and its results based on the conditions set out in the qualification document. The Project Committee shall submit this report, which includes a suggestion of the qualified and unqualified candidates' names, to the Ministry, which in turn send it to the Financial and Economic Committee to take the appropriate decisions thereon. The Financial and Economic Committee may take the report recommendation as it is, ask the Project Committee to provide clarifications, or to amend its decision. The Project Committee shall notify each candidate the result of its qualification, whether negative or positive.