Galeta Replace & Improve Facilities Project located at Province of Colon, Republic of Panama.

The Smithsonian Institution (“Smithsonian”) is providing this Notice of a Pending Solicitation. 

The Smithsonian will be seeking Proposals for the Galeta Replace & Improve Facilities Project located at Province of Colon, Republic of Panama.

The applicable North American Industry Classification Codes (“NAICS”) is 236220 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction,  size standard is $45 million. 

This announcement is open to all businesses regardless of size.  The Company or companies must be legally registered and licensed to operate as a Construction Company in the Republic of Panama.

Background:     The Galeta Marine Station is located near the Caribbean terminal of the Panama Canal and the city of Colon.  Surrounded by mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and coral reefs, the site is located on a former U.S. naval base and became STRI’s first Caribbean marine lab in 1964. The station is especially well-situated for the investigation of urban and industrial encroachment on coastal ecosystems in the tropics.

It serves as a laboratory, marine and wetland environmental monitoring station, as well as an education and outreach center for STRI. The site includes several small dormitories, a laboratory building, a small administration structure, and support buildings.

The Galeta site has recorded long-term environmental monitoring data, including the most extensive documentation of the ecological consequences of a major oil spill and long-term data on termite populations, one of the most economically significant groups of insects.

The site’s prime location and the richness of its natural environments, provide excellent field for studies and monitoring of the Caribbean Sea, aimed towards conservation and management of marine ecosystems as well as to provide continue enhancement of STRI’s outreach programs.

Galeta Point is also called Galeta Island because a mangrove swamp separates it from the mainland. It sits on a peninsula distinguished by a large mangrove forest area, a reef flat and nearby industrial areas. The reef and mangrove form a stable wetland area to buffer storms and protect marine and terrestrial species.

It is accessed by a gravel road passing the container yards adjacent to the Ports of the city of Colon, in the Republic of Panama.   The facilities include a main building, piers, three dormitory trailers, public toilets, wetland boardwalk, storage sheds, public outreach ranch and water storage tanks. The main building serves multiple purposes as: laboratory, lecture and exhibit space, administrative and research offices, kitchen, and community space.

 Goals:     The goal of this project is to implement STRI’s Facilities Master Plan for the revamping of the Galeta site, utilities infrastructure to support the entire campus, including a new fire-protection system to provide full sprinkler coverage to new and existing buildings, a new wastewater system, and improvements to existing potable water and electrical systems.

This RFP  will be issues as  a two-step solicitation.

Step 1: Request for Qualifications (released on 6/6/2023)

Step One  of the solicitation will be  provided in an electronic format, free of charge, to all authenticated account holders of the SAM.gov system on 6/6/2023. This solicitation will not be issued in paper format.  The Smithsonian Institution is interested in selecting the qualified companies.  The information you provide in the Qualification Statement will be the basis for the evaluation of your Company.  To assure your Qualification Statement is given full consideration, you must do the following:

• Read this information carefully to make sure you understand what is required.
• Answer Each question.
• Provide your information as one file (in ENGLISH) to the download link below.
• Do not leave any questions unanswered, indicate N/A if not applicable.  

Step 2:   RFP Will be issued to the pre-qualified bidders only.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.