INVITATION TO TENDER

INVITATION TO TENDER Whole Doc.

Date: Tender No.

1. The People's Republic of China has-applied for a loan and credit from the World Bank towards the cost of Project. It is intended that part of the proceeds of this loan and credit will be applied to eligible payment under various contracts for , , . Tendering is open to all tenderers from eligible source countries as defined under the "Guidelines for procurement" of the World Bank.

2. Company now invites sealed tenders from pre-qualified tenderers for provision of the necessary labour, materials, equipment and services for the construction and completion of the project.

3. Pre-qualified tenderers may obtain further information from, and inspect the tender documents at the office of: .

4. A complete set of tender documents may be obtained by any pre-qualified tenderer for the cost of CNY or US $ on the submission of a written application to the above.

5. All tenders must be accompanied by a Tender Security in an acceptable form and must be delivered to Company at the above-mentioned address (refer to Item 3) on or before .

6. Tenders will be opened in the presence of those tenderers' representatives who choose to attend at (time).

7. If a prequalified foreign tenderer wishes to form Joint venture with a domestic contractor, such a request will be considered if received within days before the closing date for submission of tenders. The selected local contractor shall be subject to approval by the Employer.

8. The Pre-Tender Meeting will be held on at the following address: .

Instructions to Tenderers
General 1. Description of Works (sketch) All tenderers shall have equal access for supply of domestic labour and material.

The Contractor shall make his own arrangements for the procurement of local labour, materials, transportation and other services.

The Employer will assist Contractor in locating potential number of suppliers for local labour, materials. The Employer will also assist the contractor in making his own arrangement for supply of fuel and explosives.

2. Source of Funds 2.1 The People's Republic of China has applied for a loan and credit from the World Bank (hereinafter referred to as the IFI) towards the cost of Project, and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of the loan and credit to eligible payments under the Contract for which these documents are issued. Payment by the IFI will be made only at the request of the Chinese Government and upon approval by the IFI and will be subject in all respects to the terms and conditions of the Loan Agreement.

No party other than the People's Republic of China shall derive any rights from the Loan Agreement or have any claim to the loan proceeds.

2.2 Payment from the proceeds of the World Bank Loan will be limited to goods produced in, and services supplied from, Switzerland and the member countries of the World Bank which have commercial relations with China.

2.3 All costs not met by the IFI Loan will be paid by the Employer from funds allocated by the Government of China.

3. Eligibility and Qualification Requirements 3.1 This tender is open to all pre-qualified tenderers from eligible source countries as defined under the "Guidelines for Procurement" of the world Bank.

3.2 All goods and services to be supplied under this Contract shall have their origin in eligible source countries, and all expenditures made under the Contract will be limited to such goods and services.

3.3 The origin of goods and services is distinct from the nationality of the tenderer.

3.4 To be eligible for award of contract, tenderers shall have provided evidence satisfactory to the Employer of their eligibility under clause 3.1 above, and of their capability and adequacy of resources to effectively carry out the Contract. To this end, the Employer and company may, at any time prior to award of contract, request tenderers to amplify or update previously submitted prequalification data.

All Tenders submitted shall include the following information: (a) copies of original documents defining the constitution or legal status, place of registration and principal place of business of the company, firm or partnership or, if a joint venture, of each party thereto constituting the tenderer; (b) the qualifications and experience of key personnel proposed for administration and execution of the Contract, both on and off site, in the format prescribed in Schedule V; (c) major items of constructional plant and equipment proposed for use in carrying out the Contract in the format prescribed in Schedule IV; (d) a list of proposed sub-contractors in the format prescribed in Schedule VI; (e) information regarding any current litigation in which the tenderer is involved; (f) the details of the construction methods proposed.

3.5 For the purposes of sub-clause 3.4, tenderers who have been pre-qualified may update and augment the information supplied with their application for pre-qualification, and, in particular, shall give particulars of work in hand at the date of tendering.

3.6 Tenders submitted by a joint venture of two or more firms as partners shall comply with the following requirements: (a) the tender, and in case of a successful tender the Form of Agreement, shall be signed so as to be legally binding on all partners; (b) one of the Joint Venture members shall be nominated as sponsor; and this authorisation shall be evidenced by submitting a power of attorney signed by legally authorised signatories of all the members of the joint venture; (c) the joint venture sponsor shall be authorised to incur liabilities and receive instructions for and on behalf of any and all members of the joint venture and the entire execution of the Contract including payment shall be done exclusively with the joint venture sponsor; (d) all members of the joint venture shall be liable jointly and severally for the execution of the Contract in accordance with the Contract terms, and a relevant statement to this effect shall be included in the authorisation mentioned under (b) above as well as in the Form of Tender and the Form of Agreement (in case of a successful tender); and (e) a copy of the agreement entered into by the joint venture partners shall be submitted with the tender.

3.7 Domestic tenderers or combinations or joint ventures of domestic and foreign tenderers applying for eligibility for the application of a % margin of preference in the comparison of their tender with other tenders shall supply all information required to satisfy the criteria for eligibility as described in Clause 29 of these Instructions.

4. Cost of Tendering The tenderer shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of his tender and neither the Employer nor his agent Company will in any way be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the outcome of the tendering process.

5. Site Visit 5.1 The tenderer is advised to visit and examine the Site of the Works and the surroundings and to obtain for himself on his own responsibility, all information that may be necessary for preparing the tender and entering into a contract. The costs of visiting the site shall be at the tenderer's own expense.

5.2 Arrangements for a visit to site, including transportation and accommodation. will be made by the Employer or his agent Company and will be advised to tenderers at the pre- tender meeting, details of which are given in Clause 16 of these Instructions to Tenderers., 5.3 The tenderer and any of his representatives will be granted permission by the Employer or his agent company to enter upon its premises and lands for the purpose of such inspection by prior arrangement, but only upon the express condition that the tenderer and his representatives, will release and indemnify the Employer or his agent Company and its personnel from and against all liability in respect thereof and will be responsible for personal injury (whether fatal or otherwise), loss of or damage to property and any other loss, damage, costs and expenses however caused, which, but for the exercise of such permission, would not have arisen.

Tender Documents 6. Content of Tender Documents 6.1 The set of documents issued to pre-qualified tenderers for the purpose of tendering will cost CNY or US $ and will include the stated number of copies of the following: Number of copies Description 1 Volume 1 Instructions to Tenderers Conditions of Contract: Part I-General Part II-Conditions of Particular Application 1 Volume 2 Specification (incl. list of Drawings) 3 Volume 3 Form of Tender and Appendix thereto Form of Tender Security Bill of Quantities Schedules of Supplementary Information 1 Volume 4 Drawings 6.2 Tender documents shall include any addenda issued prior to the closing date of tenders in accordance with Clause 8 and any minutes of pre-tender meetings issued in accordance with Clause 16 of these Instructions to Tenderers.

6.3 Further copies of the documents may be purchased by pre-qualified tenderers for a non-refundable fee as follows: (sketch) 6.4 Sub-contractors, manufacturers, suppliers and others who require copies of the documents shall not request them directly from but shall obtain them only from pre-qualified tenderers.

6.5 On return of the documents in an undamaged and useable condition, either as part of a tender or otherwise, within the specified time limits, the tenderer's pre-qualification fee will be refunded, as follows: (a) Tender submitted: % refund of fee (b) Tender not submitted but % refund of fee documents returned prior to closing date of tender 6.6 The tenderer is expected to examine carefully all instructions, conditions, forms, terms, specifications and drawings in the tender documents. Failure to comply with the requirements of the Instructions to Tenderers will be at the tenderer's own risk. Tenders which are not substantially responsive to the requirements of the tender documents may be rejected.

6.7 The four volumes of the tender documents have been collated and bound by mechanical means and tenderers should check to ensure that they contain all pages (which are numbered consecutively) and that all supplements referred to are also included.

7. Clarification of Tender Documents 7.1 A Prospective tenderer requiring any clarification of the tender documents may notify in writing or by telex at the following address: .

The Employer or his agent will respond in writing to any request for clarification which is received more than days prior to the deadline for submission of tenders. Written copies of the response (including an explanation of the query, but without identifying the source of the inquiry) will be sent to all prequalified tenderers who have been issued with tender documents.

8. Amendment of Tender Documents 8.1 Prior to the deadline for submission of tenders, the Employer may, for any reason, whether at its own initiative or in response to a clarification requested by a prospective tenderer, modify the tender documents by the issue of an Addendum.

8.2 The Addendum will be sent in writing or by telex or telegram to all pre-qualified tenderers who have picked up the tender documents and will be binding upon them. Prospective tenderers shall promptly acknowledge receipt thereof by telex or telegram to .

8.3 In order to afford prospective tenderers reasonable time in which to take an Addendum into account in preparing their tenders, the Employer or his agent may, at their discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of tenders in accordance with Clause 19 hereof.

Preparation of Tenders 9. Language of Tender 9.1 The tender and all correspondence relating to the tender exchanged by the tenderer and the Employer or his agent shall be in English. Supporting documents and printed literature furnished by the tenderer with the tender may be in another language provided they are accompanied by an appropriate English translation of pertinent passages.

For the purpose of interpretation of the tender, the English version shall prevail.

10. Documents Comprising the Tender 10.1 The tender to be Prepared by the tenderer shall contain the following: the Form of Tender and Appendix thereto; the Tender Security; the priced Bill of Quantities; the Schedules of Supplementary Information; the information on eligibility and qualifications; alternative offers, if any; and any other information required to be submitted in accordance with these Instructions.

The Forms, Bill of Quantities and Schedules provided in Volume 3 of these documents shall be used without exception (subject to extensions of the Schedules in the same format, and to the provisions of Clause 14.2 hereof regarding the alternative forms of tender security).

10.2 All documents issued for the purpose of tendering as described in Clause 6.1 and addenda issued in accordance with Clause 8 shall be deemed incorporated in the tender. Tender documents not required to be signed and submitted in accordance with Clauses 17 and 18 shall be returned to the office of issue before the expiry of the tender validity period, but must not be enclosed with the Tender.

10.3 Tenderers shall submit with their tender a preliminary Programme in the format required by Clause 14 of the Conditions of Contract.

10.4 The successful tenderer will be required to revise or augment his Programme as set out in the Contract.

11. Tender Prices 11.1 Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the tender documents, the Contract shall be for the whole of the Works as described in Clause 1 hereof, based on the schedules of unit rates and amounts submitted by the tenderer.

11.2 The tenderer shall fill in rates and amounts for all items of work described in the Bill of Quantities, whether quantities are stated or not. Items against which no rate or amount is entered by the tenderer will not be paid for by the Employer when executed and shall be deemed covered by the other rates and amounts entered in the Bill of Quantities.

11.3 All duties, taxes and other levies payable by the Contractor under the Contract, or for any other cause, as at the date days prior to the date for submission of tenders shall be included in the rates and amounts and total tender sum submitted by the tenderer, and the evaluation and comparison of tenders by the Employer shall be made accordingly.

11.4 The rates and amounts entered by the tenderer shall be subject to adjustment during the performance of the Contract in accordance with the provisions of the Conditions of Contract. The tenderer shall complete Schedule III-Price Adjustment Provisions and shall submit with his tender such other supporting information as is required under Clause 70 of the Conditions of Contract.

12. Currencies of Tender and Payment 12.1 The unit rates and prices shall be quoted by the tender entirely in CNY. A tenderer expecting to incur expenditures in other currencies for inputs to the Works supplied from outside China (referred to as "the foreign currency requirements") shall indicate in Schedule I of "Foreign Currency Requirements" the percentage of the Tender Price (excluding Provisional Sums) needed by him for the payment of such foreign currency requirements either (i) entirely in the currency of the tenderer's home country or, at the tenderer's option, (ii) entirely in US dollars, always provided that a tenderer expecting to incur expenditures in a currency or currencies other than those stated in (i) and (ii) above for a portion of the foreign currency requirements, and wishing to be paid accordingly, shall so indicate the percentage portion in his tender. The percentage portion indicated shall remain fixed for the duration of the Contract. The amounts in various currencies calculated on the basis of the percentages indicated in the Tender and by use of the exchange rates indicated in subclause 12.2 hereinafter, shall be used for the purpose of conversion and comparison of tenders pursuant to Clause 70.

12.2 The rates of exchange to be used by the tenderer for currency conversion shall be the governing selling rates published by the Bank of China on the date day prior to the latest date for the submission of tenders. If exchange rages are not so published for certain currencies, the tenderer shall state the rates used and the source. For the purpose of payments, the exchange rates used in tender preparation shall apply for the duration of the Contract.

12.3 The total amount of foreign and local currencies expected to be required by tenderers shall be substantiated in Schedules I and I (A)-Foreign Currency and Local Currency Requirements, and the annex thereto, Tenderers shall describe the manner in which such foreign and local currencies are expected to be used, relating specifically, but not limited to: Foreign Currency (a) Expatriate staff directly employed on the Works: (b) social charges, insurance premiums and medical care related to such staff, and travel expenses between China and the country of origin; (c) a list of the imported materials, both temporary and permanent, required for the Works; (d) depreciation and usage of plant and equipment, including spare parts, required for the Works; (e) insurance and freight charges for imported materials, plant and equipment, including spare parts; and (f) overhead expenses, fees and financial charges incurred outside China.

Local Currency (g) local labour; (h) local materials; (i) other services, and; (j) overhead expenses, fees and financial charges within China.

12.4 Tenderers may be required by the Employer to clarify their foreign currency requirements, and to provide satisfactory proof that the amounts included in the unit rates and in Schedule I are reasonable and responsive to sub-clause 12.1 hereof.

12.5 The tender shall complete Schedule II - Estimated Contract Payments and shall substantiate the tabulation of this Schedule by attaching a table indicating anticipated major quantities of work performed over the duration of the Works.

13. Tender Validity 13.1 The tender shall remain valid and open for acceptance for a period of six calendar months from the specified date of tender closing.

13.2 In exceptional circumstances, prior to expiry of the original tender validity period, the Employer or his agent may request the tenderers for a specified extension to the period of validity. The request and the responses thereto shall be made in writing or by telex or telegram. A tenderer may refuse the request without forfeiting his tender security. A tenderer agreeing to the extension will not be required nor permitted to alter his tender, but will be required to extend the validity of his tender security correspondingly. The provisions of Clause 14 hereof regarding discharge and forfeiture of tender security shall continue to apply during the extended period.

14. Tender Security 14.1 The tenderer shall furnish, as part of his tender, a tender security in CNY Yuan in an amount of not less than % of the Tender Sum.

14.2 The tender security shall, at the tenderer's option, be in the form of a certified cheque, a bank draft, an irrevocable letter of credit or a guarantee from either: (a) Bank of China; (b) any of its correspondent bank abroad through Bank of China; (c) any other Chinese or foreign bank operating in China; (d) any other foreign bank determined by the Tenderer in advance of submission of bids to be acceptable to .

or a bond issued by an insurance company or bonding company likewise located. The format of the bank guarantee or bond shall be in accordance with one of the sample forms included in these documents; other formats may be permitted subject to the prior approval of the Employer or his agent . Letters of credit, bank guarantees and tender bonds shall be valid for one calendar month beyond the validity of the tender.

14.3 In the event of a Tenderer agreeing to a specified extension of tender validity in accordance with Clause 13 of the Instructions to Tenderers, the Tenderer shall Provide an extension in the validity of the tender security of one calendar month beyond the validity of the extended tender.

14.4 Any tender not accompanied by an acceptable tender security will be rejected by as non-responsive.

14.5 The tender securities of unsuccessful tenderers will be discharged or returned as promptly as possible, but not later than days after the expiration of the period of tender validity prescribed.

14.6 The tender security of the successful tenderer will be discharged or returned upon the tenderer executing the Contract and furnishing the required performance security.

14.7 The tender security may be forfeited: (a) if a tenderer withdraws his tender during the period of tender validity; or (b) in the case of the successful tenderer, if he fails to: (i) sign the Agreement; or (ii) furnish the necessary performance security.

15. Alternative Offers 15.1 The tenderer shall submit a basic tender which complies fully with the requirements of the tender documents. The tenderer may, at his option, and in addition to the basic tender, offer tenders incorporating alternatives to any of the following items now specified: (a) Advance Loan for Mobilisation An interest free advance loan will be made available to assist the Contractor before commencing construction of the Works. Offers may be made for such a loan of up to % of the Tender Sum. Evaluation will be made of the associated costs or savings accruing to the Employer in accordance with Clause 28.

(b) (written as specific conditions).

15.2 Alternatives may be submitted in addition to basic tender. In order for alternatives to be considered in the process of tender evaluation, each alternative shall be accompanied by a detailed price breakdown indicating the tenderer's estimate of the additional or reduced cost in present value to the Employer (refer to subclause 28.3 hereof) compared to the basic Tender Sum. Comparison and evaluation will be done for the basic offer and alternatives of the lowest evaluated tenderer will be given due consideration. If the alternative offers were to be accepted by the Employer, these will be incorporated into the Contract. Alternative offers which are not priced, or which are not substantiated in sufficient detail, will be rejected.

15.3 Offers of technical alternatives shall be accompanied by all information necessary for a complete evaluation, including design calculations, drawings, method statements and specifications for materials and workmanship where the alternative is not covered by the Specification, together with a breakdown of the alternative prices and the Total Alternative Contract Sum.

15.4 Only those alternative offers which appear to provide additional financial, economic or technical benefits over the basic offer will be considered by the Employer in tender evaluation (refer to Clause 28).

16. Pre-Tender Meeting 16.1 The tenderer or his official representative is advised to attend a pre-tender meeting which will convene on at at the .

16.2 The purpose of the meeting will be to clarify issues and to answer questions on any matter that may be raised at that stage and to allow tenderers to inspect the Site and to examine conditions.

16.3 Tenderers are requested to submit any questions in writing or by telex or telegram, to reach not later than one week before the meeting.

16.4 Minutes of the meeting, including copies of the questions raised and responses given, will be furnished expeditiously to all those attending the meeting, and subsequently to all pre-qualified tenderers who have picked up the tender documents. Any modification of the tender documents listed in sub-clause 6.1 which may become necessary as a result of the pre-tender meeting shall be made by the Employer or his agent exclusively through the issue of an Addendum pursuant to Clause 8, and not through the minutes of the pre-tender meeting.

17. Format and Signing of Tenders 17.1 The tenderer shall prepare one original and two duplicate copies of the documents comprising the tender as described in Clause 10.1 hereof, bound within the Volume 3, and clearly marked "Original Tender" and "Duplicate Tender" as appropriate. In the event of any discrepancy between them, the original shall prevail.

17.2 The original and two duplicate copies of the tender shall be typed or written in indelible ink and shall be signed by a person or persons duly authorised to bind the tenderer to the Contract. Proof of authorisation shall be furnished in the form of a written Power of Attorney which shall accompany the tender. All pages of the tender where entries or amendments have been made shall be initialled by the person or persons signing the tender.

17.3 The complete tender shall be without alterations, interlineations or erasures, except those to accord with the instructions of any Agenda issued, or as necessary to correct errors made by the tenderer, in which case such corrections shall be initialled by the person or persons signing the tender.

17.4 Only one tender may be submitted by each tenderer, not including alternative offers submitted pursuant to Clause 15 hereof. No tenderer may participate in the tender of another for the same contract in any relation whatsoever.

18. Sealing and Marking of Tenders 18.1 The tenderer shall seal the original and two duplicate tenders each in an inner and an outer envelope, duly marking the envelopes as "Original" and "Duplicate".

18.2 The inner and outer envelopes shall: (a) be addressed to . (address of employer's agent) (b) bear the following details: (i) Tender for Construction of Contract ; (ii) Project; (iii) "Do not open before ." 18.3 The inner envelopes shall bear the name and address of the tenderer to enable the tender to be returned unopened in case it is declared late. The outer envelope shall not bear any identification of the tenderer.

18.4 If the outer envelope is not marked as instructed above, Company will assume no responsibility for the misplacement or premature opening of the tender. A tender opened prematurely for this cause will be rejected by the Employer or his agent and returned to the tenderer.

19. Deadline for Submission of Tenders 19.1 Tenders must be received by at the address specified above no later than .

19.2 The Employer or his agent Company may, at their discretion, on giving not less than calendar days notice by telex or telegram to all pre-qualified tenderers who have picked up the tender documents, extend the deadline for the submission of tenders by issuing an Addendum in accordance with Clause 8, in which case all rights and obligations of the Employer and the tenderers previously subject to the deadline shall thereafter be subject to the new deadline as extended.

20. Late Tenders Any tender received by Company after the prescribed deadline for submission of tenders will be returned unopened.

21. Modification and Withdrawal of Tenders 21.1 The tenderer may modify or withdraw his tender after submission, provided that the modification or notice of withdrawal is received in writing by Company prior to the prescribed deadline for submission of tenders.

21.2 The tenderer's modification or notice of withdrawal shall be prepared, sealed, marked and despatched in accordance with the provisions for the submission of tenders. A notice of withdrawal may also be sent by telex or telegram, but shall be followed by a signed confirmation copy, postmarked not later than the deadline for submission of tenders.

21.3 Subject to Clause 24 hereof, no tender may be modified subsequent to the deadline for submission of tenders.

21.4 Withdrawal of a tender during the interval between the deadline for submission of tenders and the expiration of the period of tender validity may result in the forfeiture of tender security pursuant to Clause 14.

Tender Opening and Evaluation 22. Tender Opening 22.1 The Employer or his agent will open the tenders, in the presence of tenderers' representatives who choose to attend, at on at the offices of . Tenderers' representatives who are present shall sign a register evidencing their attendance.

22.2 Tenders for which an acceptable notice of withdrawal has been submitted pursuant to Clause 21 hereof shall not be opened. The Employer or his agent will examine the tenders to determine whether they are complete, whether the requisite tender securities have been furnished, whether the documents have been Properly signed, and whether the tenders are generally in order.

22.3 The tenderers' names, total amounts of tenders, tender price modifications and tender withdrawals, if any, the presence of the requisite tender security and such other details as the Employer or his agent , at their discretion, may consider appropriate will be announced at the opening.

22.4 The Employer or his agent shall prepare minutes of the tender opening for his own records. Such minutes shall be sent to the World Bank together with the report on the evaluation of tenders as soon as the latter is available.

23. Process to be Confidential 23.1 After the public opening of tenders, information relating to the examination, clarification, evaluation and comparison of tenders and recommendations concerning the award of contract shall not be disclosed to tenderers or other persons not officially concerned with such process until the award of a contract to the successful tenderer has been announced.

23.2 Any effort by a tenderer to influence the Employer in the process of examination, clarification, evaluation and comparison of tenders and decisions concerning award of contract may result in the rejection of his tender.

24. Clarification of Tenders To assist in the examination, evaluation and comparison of tenders, the Employer and Company may ask tenderers individually for clarification of their tenders, including breakdowns of unit prices.

The request for clarification and the response shall be in writing or by telex or telegram, but no change in the price or substance of the tender shall be sought, offered or permitted except as required to confirm the correction of arithmetical errors discovered by the Employer during the evaluation of tenders in accordance with Clause 26 hereof.

25. Determination of Responsiveness 25.1 Prior to the detailed evaluation of tenders, the Employer and Company will determine whether each tender is substantially responsive to the requirements of the tender documents.

25.2 For the purpose of this Clause, a substantially responsive tender is one which conforms to all the terms, conditions and specifications of the tender documents without material deviation or reservation. A material deviation is one which affects in any substantial way the scope, quality or administration of the Works, or which limits in any substantial way, inconsistent with the tender documents, the Employer's rights or the tenderer's obligations under the Contract, and the rectification of which deviation or reservation would affect unfairly the competitive position of other tenderers offering substantially responsive tenders.

25.3 If a tender is not substantially responsive to the requirements of the tender documents, it shall be rejected by the Employer and Company.

26. Correction of Errors 26.1 Tenders determined to be substantially responsive will be checked by the Employer for any arithmetical errors in computation and summation.

Errors will be corrected by the Employer as follows: (a) Where there is a discrepancy between amounts in figures and in words, the amount in words will normally govern, unless it is clear from the context that the amount in figures is correct; and (b) where there is a discrepancy between the unit rate and the total amount derived from the multiplication of the unit rate and the quantity, the unit rate as quoted will normally govern unless, in the opinion of the Employer, there is obviously a gross error in the unit rate; in which event the total amount as quoted will govern and the unit rate will be corrected.

26.2 The amount stated in the Form of Tender will be adjusted by the Employer in accordance with the above procedure for the correction of errors and, with the concurrence of the tenderer, shall be considered as binding upon the tenderer. The tenderer may, at his option, withdraw his tender if acceptance of the corrected amount would cause hardship. However in cases such as this, the tenderer is warned that such an action may cause his tender security to be forfeited.

27. Conversion to Single Currency The Tender Price is the sum of all payments stated or expressed as a percentage in various currencies required to be made to the tenderer. To facilitate evaluation and comparison of tenders, the Employer will convert the amounts in various currencies in which the Tender Price is payable (excluding Provisional Sums but including Daywork, where priced competitively) to CNY at the selling rates established by Bank of China, on the date specified for the opening of tenders.

28. Evaluation and Comparison of Tenders 28.1 The Employer and Company will evaluate and compare only those tenders determined to be substantially responsive to the requirements of the tender documents in accordance with Clause 25 hereof.

The Evaluation and comparison shall be based only on the "Basic" offer to determine the lowest evaluated tenderer for award of the Contract.

28.2 In evaluating tenders, the Employer will determine for each tender the Evaluated Tender Price by adjusting the tender price as follows: (a) making any correction for errors pursuant to Clause 26; (b) excluding Provisional Sums and the provision, if any, for Contingencies in the Summary Bill of Quantities, but including Dayworks where priced competitively; (c) converting all amounts to a single currency; (d) adding any monetary cost of Mobilisation Advances, assessed in accordance with sub-clause 28.3 (e) making an appropriate adjustment for any other acceptable quantifiable variations, deviations or alternative offers not reflected in the tender price or in the above-mentioned other adjustments.

(f) such other factors as the Employer considers may have a potentially significant impact on contract execution, price and payments, including the effect of items or unit rates in the tender that are unbalanced or unrealistically priced.

28.3 The monetary costs to the Employer of variations in the amount of mobilisation advances requested by tenderers pursuant to sub-clauses 15.1 (a), using a discount rate of percent per annum, shall be added to the respective tenderer's tender price for comparison purposes only.

28.4 The Employer and Company reserves the right to accept or reject any variation, deviation or alternative offer. Variations, deviations, alternative offers and other factors which are in excess of the requirements of the tender documents or otherwise result in the accrual of unsolicited benefits to the Employer may not be taken into account in tender evaluation.

28.5 Price adjustment provisions applying to the period of execution of the Contract shall not be taken into account in tender evaluation.

28.6 If the tender of the successful tenderer is seriously unbalanced in relation to the Engineer's estimate of the real cost of work to be performed under the Contract, the Employer may require that the amount of the performance security set forth in Clause 34 be increased at the expense of the successful tenderer to a level sufficient to protect the Employer against financial loss in the event of subsequent default of the successful tenderer under the Contract.

29. Preference for Domestic Tenderers 29.1 Domestic tenderers shall satisfy the following criteria to be eligible for a % margin of preference in the comparison of their tenders with those of non-eligible tenderers: (a) be registered within China; (b) have majority ownership by nationals of China; and (c) shall not subcontract more than % of the contract works (in terms of value) to foreign contractors.

29.2 Combinations and joint ventures between domestic and foreign firms shall be eligible for the margin of preference provided: (a) the domestic partner or partners individually satisfy the criteria for eligibility set out above; (b) the domestic partner or partners will, under the arrangements proposed, carry out at least % of the contract works, measured in terms of value.

(c) The domestic partner or partners would not be qualified for the Contract Works in question on technical or financial grounds without the foreign participation.

29.3 The following procedure will be used to give effect to the margin of preference: (a) After tenders have been evaluated fully in accordance with the provisions of Clause 28 hereinabove, responsive tenders will be classified into the following groups; (i) Group A: tenders offered by domestic tenderers meeting the criteria set forth in sub-clause 29.1 hereinabove and by joint ventures meeting the criteria set forth in sub-clause 29.2 hereinabove; and (ii) Group B: tenders offered by other tenderers.

(b) For the purpose of further evaluation and comparison of tenders only, an amount equal to percent of the tender price (as adjusted pursuant to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-clause 28.2) will be added to the Evaluated Tender Price of tenders classified in Group B.

Award of Contract 30. Award Criteria Subject to Clause 31, the Employer and Company may award the Contract to the tenderer whose tender has been determined to be substantially responsive to the tendering documents and who has offered the lowest Evaluated Tender Price pursuant to Clause 28 and paragraph (b) of sub-clause 29.3 (if applicable), provided further that the tenderer has the capability and resources to carry out the Contract effectively (refer to sub-clause 3.5), but the employer and Company gives no guarantee that the lowest or any tender will be accepted.

31. Employer's Rights Notwithstanding Clause 30, the Employer reserves the right to accept or reject any tender, and to annul the tendering process and reject all tenders, at any time prior to award of contract, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected tenderer or tenderers or any obligation to inform the affected tenderer or tenderers of the grounds for the Employer's action.

32. Notification of Award 32.1 Prior to the expiration of the period of tender validity prescribed by the Employer, the Employer will notify the successful tenderer by telex or telegram confirmed in writing by registered letter that his tender has been accepted. This letter (hereinafter and in the Conditions of Contract called the "Letter of Acceptance") shall name the sum which the Employer will pay to 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 Conditions of Contract called the "Tender Sum").

32.2 The notification of award will constitute the formation of the Contract.

32.3 Upon the furnishing by the successful tenderer of a performance security in accordance with the provisions of Clause 34 hereof, the Employer will promptly notify the other tenderers that their tenders have been unsuccessful.

33. Signing of Agreement 33.1 Within days of notifying the successful tenderer that his tender has been accepted, the Employer will send to the tenderer two copies of the Form of Agreement provided in the tender documents, incorporating all agreements between the parties.

33.2 Within days of receipt of the Form of Agreement, the successful tenderer shall execute the Agreement by signing or sealing, as appropriate, and return both copies to the Employer. The Employer will then execute the Agreement and return one copy to the Contractor.

34. Performance Security 34.1 Within days of receipt of the Letter of Acceptance, the successful tenderer shall furnish to the Employer a security for the due performance of the Contract, in accordance with the Conditions of Contract. The form of performance security provided in the tender documents may be used, or some other form acceptable to the Employer.

34.2 If the performance security is to be provided by the successful tenderer in the form of a bank guarantee, it shall be issued either by a local bank; by a foreign bank through a correspondent local bank; or by a foreign bank which has been determined by the tenderer to be acceptable to the Employer.

34.3 If the performance security is to be provided by the successful tenderer in the form of a bond, it shall be issued by a bonding or insurance company which has been determined by the tenderer to be acceptable to the Employer.

34.4 Failure of the successful tenderer to comply with the requirements of Clauses 33 or 34 hereof shall constitute sufficient grounds for the annulment of the award and forfeiture of the tender security, in which event the Employer may make the award to the next lowest evaluated tenderer or, if there are no other tenderers, call for new tenders.