We're building a new prison in Baghlan, Afghanistan?

The State Department through the American Consulate General in Frankfurt has issued a Pre-Solicitation Notice in the issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the new construction of a prison in Baghlan, Afghanistan: Reprinted in part below:

On behalf of the U.S. Embassy & Ministry of Justice in Kabul, Afghanistan, The Regional Procurement Support Office in Frankfurt, Germany intends to issue a Firm Fixed- Price construction type contract for the new construction of a Prison, in Baghlan, Afghanistan. The scope of work requires the successful Contractor to furnish all labor and materials to fulfill the requirements of this contract, which consists of all architectural, civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical work required to construct a Prison Compound to include separate Female, Male and Juvenile Section, plus all infrastructure.

A Pre-Proposal conference and site visit is currently being scheduled, detailed of which will be announced later. The estimated price for this project is between $5 and $10 million for the entire project. Proposals will be due in March 2010 and it is intended to award the contract shortly thereafter.

Companies interested in the solicitation shall express their interest by written correspondence to the attention of Graham Andrews by email at AndrewsGS@state.gov, no later than February 5, 2010 using the solicitation number SGE500-10-R-0020 in the subject line. All requests for a copy of the solicitation MUST include the following information: Name of Firm, Name of Contact, Address, Telephone and Email Address.

Firms shall be knowledgeable in written and spoken English and possess all appropriate permits and licenses to perform construction work in Afghanistan. The solicitation package will only be available in the English language.

Solicitation and award will be subject to the laws and regulations of the United States of America and is being competed utilizing full and open competition procedures.

See the whole notice here.

According to this, Baghlan is a city in northern Afghanistan, in Baghlan Province, located three miles east of the Kunduz River, 35 miles south of Khanabad, and about 1,700 meters above sea level in the northern Hindu Kush.

Some pictures here of Baghlan province from the Hungarian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team, which worked on the flood control dam and other projects in the province. USAID page for Baghlan province is here.