Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) N° PTD/09/051
Mandate for a General Contractor for the construction of the new WIPO conference hall
Date of publication: 22.10.2009
Deadline for vendor queries: 6.11.2009
Deadline for submissions: 14.12.2009*
*Please note that the deadline for the submission of proposals has been extended from Monday, December 7, 2009 to Monday, December 14, 2009. See Addendum N° 1 (in French only). [PDF]
Annex A - Consolidated List of Questions and WIPO's Answers (in French only). [PDF]
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an intergovernmental organization with its headquarters in Geneva in the French-speaking region of Switzerland. It is one of the 16 specialized agencies in the United Nations system. It is responsible for promoting the protection of intellectual property throughout the world, including the administration of the system based on the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the international registration of trademarks.
Following an international architectural competition, WIPO selected the design of Behnisch Architekten from Stuttgart, for the construction of an administrative building on a neighboring plot belonging to it. By means of an open international tender, the construction work was awarded to Implenia Entreprise Générale SA, and the mandate of project pilot to the company Burckhardt+Partner SA. The construction work began in April 2008 and completion is scheduled for October 2010.
In December 2008, while the new construction work was continuing, the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO decided to launch studies concerning the preparation of a full architectural and technical project for the construction of a new conference hall, those studies being entrusted to the same agents responsible for the project to extend WIPO headquarters. At the September 2009 Assemblies, the Member States of WIPO approved the design and the implementation of the project of the new conference hall.
For this purpose, the WIPO agents (architects, engineers and specialists) are currently drawing up the requisite documents for the preparation and implementation of the construction phases of the project, for which a building authorization application has already been filed with the Geneva authorities.
The new conference hall project
The project includes:
- a new construction: the actual conference room, with a capacity of 900 seats in tiers, developed on the first floor level and including nine interpretation booths and a control room. The ground floor, consisting mainly of the entrance hall, is directly connected to and opens out on to the hall of the main building (Arpad Bogsch Building). Service, sanitation and technical areas will be located in the basement. It is to be noted that part of the construction lies on top of the basement levels of the administrative building currently being built. The changes, measures to strengthen and requisite preparatory work on the building being constructed to accommodate the new conference hall will be entrusted to the general contractor currently on site;
- changes in the existing main building, in particular an extension to the entrance hall and the creation of additional meeting rooms on the first floor. This work will have to be done so as to guarantee the sound operation of existing facilities and accessibility for WIPO staff, delegates and visitors while it is being carried out;
- a new construction of about 350 m2 (visitors’ access center) for the reception, monitoring and registration of WIPO delegates and visitors.
The total volume of the project is about 31,000 m3, of which 26,000 m3 are for the conference room. The surface area is about 7,000 m2, of which 5,400 m2 are for the conference room and the total construction cost is estimated at about 50,000,000 Swiss francs. The work is scheduled to last for 24 months and to be completed in December 2012.
Taking into account the specific nature of the project, the architectural and technical features of which are specific, applicants are requested to refer to the brochure produced by the architect [PDF], which deals, inter alia, with the following points:
- situation of the project in context;
- operation of the building;
- the idea of a sustainable building;
- the technical aspects;
- the landscaping concept.
Procedure
The launch of the request for proposals for a general contractor or a consortium is planned for March-April 2010 with the aim of starting the construction work in January 2011.
On the basis of the criteria and conditions in the annex, and from the firms or consortia of firms that have responded to this call for expressions of interest, an independent Selection Board, consisting of representatives of the Member States of WIPO, will preselect, freely and without appeal, those parties who will receive from WIPO a request for proposals and will alone be authorized to submit a bid; no bid submitted by a consortium other than one of those that have been preselected will be taken into consideration.
The general contractor or consortium will also be selected subsequently, freely and without appeal, by the same independent Selection Board mentioned above.
Except for the text of this call for expressions of interest, French will be the only working language.
Any firm or consortium wishing to participate in the preselection procedure is invited to download the electronic version of the questionnaires (available only in French) by clicking below on one of the two icons [DOC] [PDF] for the general contractor application form or on one of the two icons [DOC] [PDF] for the application form for a consortium of general contractors.
It is specified that the general contractor currently working on site, responsible for constructing the new administrative building, is authorized to participate in the present procedure.
WIPO wishes to draw attention to the fact that for the duration of the contract, the general contractor or consortium awarded the contract shall be entirely independent of any entity participating in the project, so as to avoid a financial or other conflict of interest arising with that participating entity, which would be detrimental to its impartiality; if that is not the case, applicants should, as a matter of course, inform WIPO accordingly at the appropriate time, as part of the request for proposals procedure.
As part of the request for proposals procedure, firms will be requested inter alia to provide, from a bank, a bid bond upon first demand and an undertaking to submit to WIPO a performance bond, also upon first demand.
For applications by consortia, firms shall indicate their individual and joint references. Each consortium may have a maximum of two general contractors. Multiple applications are forbidden and, as a result, a general contractor may participate in one consortium only.
To be taken into consideration at the preselection stage, general contractors shall satisfy the conditions of participation defined in the annex. WIPO reserves the right to verify the information provided and to request from candidates recent proof that these conditions are duly satisfied.
WIPO reserves also the right to interrupt the present procedure at any time and with complete freedom.
Candidates will receive no compensation for participation in the preselection and selection procedures, including in the case where the procedure is interrupted.
All questions relating to this call for expressions of interest shall be sent by electronic mail to the address: ProcurementON@wipo.int, by November 6, 2009 at the latest. The subject line of your electronic mail shall contain the reference “Call for expressions of interest No. PTD/09/051”. Beyond the above-mentioned expiry date, WIPO will be unable to respond to other questions. A summary and anonymous list of the applications received, accompanied by the responses, will be published on the WIPO Internet site (www.wipo.int/procurement/en/notices.html) by November 13, 2009 at the latest.
Submission of the expression of interest and files
The expression of interest by firms to participate in the request for proposals for the construction of the new WIPO conference hall and applicants’ files, including the duly completed and signed questionnaire and all the required documents mentioned above and in the annex, shall reach the following address by mail, fax or electronic mail (in pdf format) by December 14, 2009*:
Organisation Mondiale de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OMPI)
Appel à manifestation d’intérêt no PTD/09/051
Division des achats et des voyages
34 chemin des Colombettes
1211 Genève 20 – Suisse
Fax : +41 (0)22 338 8210
ProcurementON@wipo.int
*Please note that the deadline for the submission of proposals has been extended from Monday, December 7, 2009 to Monday, December 14, 2009. See Addendum N° 1 (in French only). [PDF]
ANNEX
To the Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) N° PTD/09/051
Mandate of the General Contractor for the construction of the new WIPO conference hall
A. PRESELECTION CRITERIA
1. Financial capacity of the general contractor (of each individual firm in the consortium of firms) sufficient in relation to the scope of the market
Proof:
- recent extract from the register of the Execution Department or equivalent public authority of the country concerned, accompanied, where appropriate, by a translation into French;
- recent extract from the Commercial Register or that of an equivalent public authority in the country concerned, accompanied, where appropriate, by a translation into French;
- the last three balance sheets and profits and losses accounts with the reports of the auditing body, where appropriate;
- declaration concerning the annual turnover for 2006 to 2008 contained in the preselection questionnaire.
2. General references of the general contractor (of each individual firm in the consortium of firms) since January 1, 2000
Proof:
- declaration contained in the preselection questionnaire
3. General capacity of the general contractor (of each individual firm in the consortium of firms) to carry out the terms of reference open to bid
Taking into account the specific nature of the project, including primarily the construction of a conference room with specific technical features (load-bearing structure and envelope of the room made of wood with spans and overhangs of more than 30 meters), the references of the firms in the field of wooden construction and in the construction of conference rooms, concert halls or auditoria will be examined with the greatest attention.
Proof:
- general organization chart of the general contractor;
- profile of the general contractor;
- declaration contained in the preselection questionnaire.
B. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
1. Respect for provisions on workers’ protection
Proof:
- declaration contained in the preselection questionnaire: WIPO reserves the right to request subsequent transmission of the corresponding forms of proof
2. Payment of social contributions and taxes
Proof:
- declaration contained in the preselection questionnaire; WIPO reserves the right to request subsequent transmission of the corresponding forms of proof
3. Respect for equal salaries for men and women
Proof:
- declaration contained in the preselection questionnaire; WIPO reserves the right to request subsequent transmission of the corresponding forms of proof