. /.  
 WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/INF/94 
13 June 2005 
 (05-2455) 
  
  
 
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT ON THE CONSTRUCTION 
OF THE WTO OFF-SITE EXTENSION 
 
  Please find attached the International Call for Expression of Interest which is also available 
on the WTO Website.  It might be of interest  for the general contractors in your country. WT/INF/94 
Page 2 
 
INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST 
 
The World Trade Organization (WTO) plans the construction of an off-site extension  
(WTO II), Avenue de France, in Geneva 
 
A firm of architects, selected on the basis of an international competition for the off-site extension of the WTO (WTO II), and a team of engineers have been commissioned for the design of 
the new building, which will be built on a turnkey basis by a 
general contractor selected by tender.  
To that end, an international call for expression of interest is 
being sent out to general contractors with experience in the construction of administrative buildings.  At the end of this process, a maximum of eight companies will be short-listed and 
subsequently invited to submit a bid. 
 
The features of the planned building, which is expected to accommodate 400 working places,  are as follows:  gross floor 
space - 19,000 square metres; enclosed space - 63,000 cubic 
metres, 12 levels, three of which will be under ground.  The tender documents for the selection by the contracting 
authority (the WTO) of the general contractor for the 
construction of the WTO II building will be sent out during the 3
rd quarter of 2005 and returned 60 days later.  The contract 
will be awarded during the first quarter of 2006.  Subject to the 
building permit and other necessary authorizations, the work is expected to begin in mid-2006 and to last 24 months.  
Interested general contractors are invited to submit their 
applications, in French, by 2 p.m. (Geneva time) on 1 July 2005, to the following address: 
 
World Trade Organization 
Administration and General Services Division  Ms. T. García-Gill 
Chief, Infrastructure Section 
154 Rue de Lausanne CH-1211 Geneva 21 (Switzerland) . 
 
No applications will be considered beyond that date.  In 
addition to the above address, the sealed packages should be clearly marked " WTO II BUILDING – International Call for 
Expression of Interest – DO NOT OPEN" . 
 
For applications delivered by hand, the sealed package must be handed in at the visitor's entrance against a receipt. 
 
Only general contractors that have been in operation for at 
least five years, with a permanent qualified workforce and an operational and financial capacity proportionate to the scale of 
the planned project, are eligible.  In addition, they must 
undertake to comply with the laws and customs of the profession applicable to Switzerland and Geneva.  
Applications from contractors, subsidiaries in particular, should 
contain only the information that is directly relevant to them, and should include all the following attachments (incomplete 
applications will not be considered): 1. List of the main constructions carried out by the company
over the past five years (no more than one A4 page). 
2. Detailed references of five assignments of a complexity
comparable to the WTO II project (administrative, ove
r
5,000 square metres in floor space) undertaken by the
contractor over the past five years, stating the dates, costs
and types of contract, service providers hired under the
responsibility of the general contractor, contact details o f
the commissioning entities from which the contractingauthority might request further information (no more than
five A4 pages).   
3. Organization, structure and staffing of the company (no
more than one A4 page). 
4. Undertaking by the company to comply with the legislation
in force at the place of execution, and to impose that
obligation on its service providers, partners, and sub-contractors (no more than one A4 page). 
5. Evidence of turnover for the last two years. 
6. Extract from the trade register or its equivalent. 
7. Proof of the existence of a recognized methodology fo
r
quality control in the administration of the company and in
project management. 
8. List, curriculum vitae, and references for the company's
key managers. 
 
The list of selection criteria below is not exhaustive. The orde r
in which the criteria are listed is not necessarily an indication o f
priority: 
 
1. Experience in the field (references) 
2. Organization (structure, staffing) 3. Staff qualifications 
4. Financial security (financial status, references, growth in
turnover) 
5. Ability to adapt to local technical and legal requirements 6. Completeness of requested documentation. 
 
At this stage, no additional in formation will be provided.
Interested companies are asked to refrain from making anycontact with the WTO or its service providers before the end o
f
the current selection process.  The WTO reserves the right to freely choose the companies
that will be short-listed for the final bid, without providing an
explanation of its choice.  The WTO also reserves the right not
to follow up on this international call for expression of interest.The name of the companies select ed will not be disclosed.  By
responding to this international call for expression of interest,
the companies accept that no claim or recourse on their partshall be admissible.  
 
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