Tender: SOFTWARE, HARDWARE AND INFRASTRUCTURE FOR GENERATING DIGITAL IDENTITY FOR CITIZENS OF SRI LANKA AND FOR THE HOUSEHOLD TRANSFER MANAGEMENT (HTM) SYSTEM

Invitation for Bids (IFB): PROCUREMENT OF DESIGNING, DEVELOPING, SUPPLYING, DELIVERING,
INSTALLING AND IMPLEMENTING THE SOFTWARE, HARDWARE AND
INFRASTRUCTURE FOR GENERATING DIGITAL IDENTITY FOR CITIZENS OF SRI
LANKA AND FOR THE HOUSEHOLD TRANSFER MANAGEMENT (HTM) SYSTEM
IFB NO: MTDI/GOSL/IS/ICB/2016/15

The Government of Sri Lanka annually allocates a considerable amount of funds for the social welfare, safety net programmes and pensions. These programs are designed to protect citizens from the economic risks and insecurities of life. The Government has a continued commitment towards these welfare programmes to ensure that these programmes achieve their desired objectives.

One of the main considerations is the efficient management of subsidies dispensed through these welfare programmes. In order to achieve the above, it is important to determine the identity of all beneficiaries and to ensure benefits are disbursed to the absolutely needy.

Therefore the Government of Sri Lanka has decided to implement a fully integrated automated system to manage disbursement of funds associated with all social welfare and safety net programmes in Sri Lanka By enabling citizens with digital identity that supports these objectives. 

The proposed project will be implemented by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), which functions under the purview of the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure.

The Chairman of the Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (CAPC), on behalf of the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, now invites sealed Bids from eligible and qualified Bidders for procurement of designing, developing, supplying, delivering, installing and implementing the software, hardware and infrastructure for generating digital identity for citizens of Sri Lanka and for the Household Transfer Management (HTM) system.

Bidding will be conducted using the International Competitive Bidding (ICB) procurement method with Single Stage Two Envelopes procedure and procurement activities shall be governed by the Procurement Guidelines of the Government of Sri Lanka and is open to all eligible Bidders.

To be eligible for contract award, the successful bidder shall not have been blacklisted. The qualification criteria for the eligible bidders shall include the following. (Additional qualification requirements are given in the Bidding Documents).

a) General experience: Under Information Technology (IT) Contracts, bidder shall have been in the business of implementing/integration of Information and Communication Technology Systems in the role of Prime Contractor or Prime System Integrator during the last five (05) years prior to the Bid submission deadline and with actively operational at least six (06) months in each year.

b) Specific experience: During the last five (05) years, bidder must have successfully completed at least one (01) contract of similar nature, with the value of not less than Sri Lanka Rupees Five Thousand Million (LKR 5,000 Million) or equivalent. The similarity shall be based on the physical size, complexity,  methods/technology or other characteristics as described in the Bidding Document. At least one completed contract should have received final acceptance and system has been in operation  satisfactorily during the last two (02) years counted from the date of bid submission deadline, and the
other projects should have received at least provisional acceptance.

c) For the Contract/s executed during the period stipulated in paragraph (b) above, the bidder should posses the minimum experience in the following key areas:

i. Design and implementation of Information Systems for similar scope and size ii. Implementation of a system handling data capturing including biometrics, electronic storage and management of citizens’ data
iii. Provisioning of operational support and maintenance of similar IT Systems and IT Infrastructure

d) Annual Average Turnover
The minimum average annual turnover of not less than Sri Lankan Rupees Five Thousand Million (LKR 5,000 Million) or equivalent, calculated as total certified payments received for contracts in progress or completed, within the last three (03) years.

e) Financial Resources
The bidder must demonstrate access to or availability of financial resources such as liquid assets, un-encumbered real assets, line of credit and other financial means, other than any contractual advance payments to meet the cash flow requirement of not less than Sri Lankan Rupees Three Thousand Five Hundred Million (LKR 3,500 Million) or equivalent, and net of the bidder’s other commitments for this project.

f) Successful bidder should have a registered business presence in Sri Lanka or should agree to establish an office with adequate staff and resources prior to commencement of works, which should continue to be in operation at least for a period of five (05) years for implementation, providing support for project  management, maintaining warranty, providing technical support and maintenance of the system.

Interested eligible Bidders may obtain further information from Director/Procurement, ICTA, 160/24,
2nd Floor, Kirimandala Mawatha, Colombo 05, Sri Lanka and inspect the Bidding documents during
office hours on working days commencing from April 12, 2016 at the office of ICTA at the above address.

A complete set of Bidding Documents in English Language may be purchased by interested bidders
on submission of a written application and upon payment of a non-refundable fee of Sri Lankan Rupees
Twenty Five Thousand (LKR 25,000.00) or equivalent amount in United States Dollars to Chief
Accountant, Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, effective from April 12, 2016
during 0900 to 1500 Hours on working days (Monday to Friday) from the office of the Ministry at 79/1,
5th Lane, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka. The method of payment will be by cash. The Bidding Documents may
be couriered to the foreign bidders at an additional charge of LKR 6,000.00 per set of documents.

A pre-bid meeting which potential bidders may attend will be held at 1400 Hrs on May 13, 2016 at the office of ICTA, 160/24, 2nd Floor, Kirimandala Mawatha, Colombo 05, Sri Lanka. Bids must be delivered to Secretary, Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, 79/1, 5th Lane, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka at or before 1500 Hrs on July 07, 2016. Late Bids will not be accepted and will be rejected and returned unopened to the bidders. Bids sent electronically will not be accepted.

All Bids must be accompanied by Bid Securities in the form of a Bank Guarantee using the format
given with the Bidding Documents in the amount of Sri Lankan Rupees Seventy Million (LKR
70,000,000.00).

Bids shall be valid for a period of 175 days from the date of deadline for submission of the Bids.
Technical Bids will be opened immediately after the deadline for submission of bids, in the presence
of bidders or their authorized representatives who choose to attend in person at Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, 79/1, 1st Floor, 5th Lane, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka.

Attention of the prospective bidders is drawn to the fact that,
(i) They will be required to certify in their bids that all software is either covered by a valid license or was produced by the bidder itself and;
(ii) Violations are considered fraud, which is among other remedies, punishable by potential blacklisting from participation in procurement activities funded by the Government of Sri Lanka.

The Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure and/or ICTA will not be responsible for any costs or any expenses incurred by the bidders in connection with the preparation or delivery of bids.