Sources Sought for Repair and Construction Work in Secure Access Building at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ONLY.  THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, REQUEST FOR QUOTE, OR INVITATION FOR BID.

The intent of this notice is to identify qualified, experienced, and interested offerors capable of performing the type of work as described herein for information and planning purposes.

The information received by the Navy will facilitate the planning and decision-making process and will not be disclosed outside of the agency.  No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests.  In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and not accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The Operational Trainer Complex (OTC) at Building 7000 (B7000), is a controlled access facility that provides secure spaces for Marine Corps and Navy pilots to perform critical flight simulation training in support of the Department of Defense mission in the Japan AOR.

The OTC has experienced issues with facility systems since construction completed in 2016.  The original design of the OTC building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems consists of a central waterside chilled water and hot water two pipe system that operates in either heating mode or cooling mode with central airside variable air volume (VAV) systems to provide building conditioning for ventilation, envelope, and typical interior comfort cooling and heating loads.  The major issues with the HVAC systems is their inability to maintain space temperature and humidity requirements, condensation, mold growth, and no central location to monitor or control the building’s HVAC systems.  

These issues are causing interruption in the operation of the flight simulator trainers, extreme temperature for personnel, and health concerns due the mold issues.  The current facility condition degrades the commands training environment and jeopardizes the war fighter’s ability to meet the minimum training requirements, timelines and deployment schedules required by Marine Corp Command to maintain a presence in this forward deployed Area of Responsibility (AOR).

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Far East (FE), Iwakuni Acquisition Team, is seeking potential sources (contractors) to execution a Design-Bid-Build (DBB) construction project to upgrade of the HVAC system for the Operational Trainer Complex (OTC) at Building 7000 (B7000) located at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan.  The magnitude of this construction project is $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 or Japanese Yen equivalent.

The construction project will include upgrading the HVAC system in B7000 and includes the following requirements in the final design and specifications:

• Repair and modify existing HVAC system for B7000 with a four-pipe system with independent control.
• Modify Mechanical Rooms 5, 6, and 7 to accommodate the four-pipe system with independent control.  This includes modifying the existing air handling units (AHUs).
• Remove heat exchanger units throughout the building that bring in outside air and exhaust systems.  This will include capping and sealing the outside air and exhaust ductwork.
• Upgrade the Building Automation System (BAS) with a new DDC front end workstation and Human Machine Interface (HMI) to equipment monitoring and control, alarm and energy management, and historical data archiving.
• Evaluate and implement cybersecurity measures.
• Provide HVAC to the two D Wing flight simulator rooms and configure the system for the replacement of the existing F18 Training Simulators with two F35 Training Simulators.  The modifications to upgrade the training simulator rooms for F35 Training Simulators are not included in the scope of work.
• Provide upgrades to the electrical system to support the HVAC modifications.
• Provide architectural and structural modifications to support the HVAC modifications.
• Provide a revised construction-phasing plan for the HVAC modifications.  The plan coordinates with the facility operations and when the training simulators need to be operational.  Please see attached initial construction-phasing plans and schedule (Enclosure 1 & 2).  

The Contractor shall furnish all labor, management, supervision, tools, materials, equipment, incidental engineering, and transportation necessary to perform upgrade of the HVAC system for the Operational Trainer Complex (OTC) at Building 7000 (B7000) located at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan.  This project will upgrade the two‐pipe hydronic system to a four‐pipe system with independent load control.  The four‐pipe system with independent load control along with VAV system hot water reheat, unconditioned outside air systems removed, humidifiers added, and upgrade the building systems will provide more flexibility with heat and cooling systems.  This will alleviate the issue of extreme temperature differences, provide better humidity control, and reduce the mold issues the facility is currently experiencing.

The contract type will be firm-fixed-price (FFP) with a construction completion date of 495 days after contract award based on the construction-phasing schedule.  Onsite work in the secure spaces can only occur in the months from May to December and shown in the construction-phasing schedule (Enclosure 2).

CONSTUCTION SECURITY PLAN REQUIREMENTS:

This contract will be performed in its entirety in the country of Japan on a U.S. military base.

The OTC is a secure building, and the project needs to adhere to the security requirements as outlined in the Construction Security Plans (CSP) for this facility (Enclosure 3).  Contractors need to coordinate with the Site Security Managers (SSM) before starting any work. 

The CSP requires all HVAC design and construction contracts be awarded to U.S. companies using U.S. persons (an individual who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) or who is a protected individual as defined by Title 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)).  Secure Area finish work (work that includes closing up wall structures; installing, floating, taping, and sealing wallboards; installing trim, chair rail, molding, and floorboards; painting; etc.) shall be accomplished by U.S. citizens, as outlined in the project specifications.  Only U.S. Persons may participate in the modification of Building 7000’s HVAC. All personnel must undergo security vetting prior to site access.  The SSM and a sponsor for the contracted construction company are required to work with MCAS Iwakuni Station Provost Marshal Office (PMO) and the contracted construction company to verify citizenship status of all contracted construction company employees and subcontractors designated to work on site via D-BIDS.  The construction contractor (including subcontractors) is prohibited from acquiring labor or services from foreign-owned companies or non-U.S. persons.  Local national employees (LNE) personnel will have limited and supervised access to the Non-Secure Work Areas for transportation and movement of material.  LNEs will remain under constant surveillance by CSTs when working on the project. LNEs will be advised to not loiter on the project site when not actively engaged in construction tasks.  Interior finish work will be accomplished by U.S. Citizens holding at least a Secret clearance only.  Any requests to deviate from this requirement will be presented to Deputy Director, USMC, Special Access Program Central Office (SAPCO) via the Program Security Officer (PSO) and to Defense Intelligence Activity (DIA) via the Navy Special Security Officer (SSO).  This requirement may not be delegated. 

Several of the areas are protected by Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Surveillance Technology (TEMPEST) shielding and require special consideration when penetrating this area with piping or other equipment.  Reference the architectural drawings for the secure area boundary in the final plans and specifications.  

STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT:

The U.S. Government will not offer “United States Official Contractor” status under Article XIV of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to any offeror awarded a contract for this requirement.  Furthermore, unless specifically provided, the U.S. Government shall not certify any employees of a contractor as “Members of the Civilian Component” under Article I(b) of the SOFA.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Interested sources are invited to respond to this Sources Sought Notice by completing and submitting Contractor Information Form, Enclosure (4) to demonstrate capabilities, capacity, and experience.  Submission should be no more than 12 single sided page or 6 double-sided pages, including attachments, single-spaced, 12-point font minimum.  The capabilities package must be complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the firm’s qualifications to perform the defined work.

Respondents will not be notified of the results of the Navy’s market research.  NAVFAC FE will utilize the information for acquisition planning purposes.  All data received in response to this Sources Sought Notice marked or designated, as corporate or proprietary information will be fully protected from release outside the Government.

Please respond to this Sources Sought announcement electronically to Mr. Janofsky Herrion via electronic mail at janofsky.herrion@usmc.com no later than 1400 (2:00 PM) Japan Standard Time (JST) on 28 March 2024.  NO TELEPHONE CALLS OR FACSIMILES WILL BE ACCEPTED.  Responses received after the deadline or without the required information may not be considered.  Since this is a Sources Sought announcement only, evaluation letters will not be issued to any respondent.