September 27, 2023

Request for proposals (RFPs) for the supply of medical liquid oxygen (mLOX) and cryogenic vessels in the Democratic Republic of Congo

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The Clinton Health Access Initiative, (CHAI) is a sub-grantee of FHI360 on the Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) project, a global eight-year project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). EpiC received COVID-19 funding to prevent, prepare for, respond to and bolster health systems to address COVID-19 and reduce cases of re-emergence. Part of EpiC’s COVID-19 program is to provide high-quality medical oxygen systems. FHI360 is the prime implementing partner for EpiC.

CHAI seeks interested and capable vendors to submit proposals for the supply of medical liquid oxygen (mLOx), provision and installation of VIE tanks and civils, vaporizers, Liquid to Gas (L2G) filling systems hardware and operations, as well as maintenance and service level agreements at Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa (CUK) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as detailed in the Product information (Annex A) of this RFP. In this solicitation, EpiC may provide capital financing for procurement of complementary infrastructure, including (but not limited to) cryogenic transport vessels, transport vehicles, road tankers, etc., if vendors indicate such a need. When preparing your RFP please be guided by the technical specifications and details attached as Annex B and CHAI code of conduct and ethics for suppliers in Annex C.

Cliniques Universitaires de Kinshasa (CUK) is a tertiary facility in Kinshasa where there are plans to introduce medical grade liquid oxygen. The facility currently does not have any cryogenic storage vessels. However, the hospital’s piped bed network is being expanded to ensure that oxygen is available to patients’ bedside. The mLOx supplied by the vendor will then be vaporized and piped to the patient’s bedside and also converted to gas additionally to fill cylinders and serve the catchment area around CUK with over 85 health facilities. Companies are invited to submit proposals on how to achieve our end goal: installing 2 VIE tanks and L2G filling station equipment at CUK, and a steady supply of quality mLOX (stored in above mentioned VIE tank) to provide quality piped oxygen to CUK patients’ bedside, as well as L2G cylinder filling to serve facilities in a selected catchment area. A suggestive illustration of the mLOX supply chain of custody is given in Annex D below.

Any information submitted in response to this RFP is provided to CHAI on a voluntary basis. CHAI shall not be under any obligation to procure any of the services or products described in this document, until all technical and quality documentation has been provided, and a written contract is awarded and approved.

An open Q&A session will be conducted on the 17th of October 2023 for interested vendors. Additional queries or clarifications on this RFP should be submitted via the email drcprocurement@clintonhealthaccess.org quoting RFP/CHAI/LOxH/DRC/0123 in the subject line by 12 midnight GMT+1 on the 5 November 2023. Responses will be shared via all RFP solicitation channels, as well as in email replies.

Quotations must be submitted on or before 12 midnight GMT+1 on the 7th of November 2023 via the email drcprocurement@clintonhealthaccess.org quoting RFP/CHAI/LOxH/DRC/0123 in the subject line. Should your submission exceed 2Mb and cannot be sent by email, send an email to request an upload link with the subject ‘Requesting upload link’ to drcprocurement@clintonhealthaccess.org.

Download the RFP

Download Annex A

Download Annex B Lot 1

Download Annex B Lot 2

Download Annex B Lot 3

Download Annex B Lot 4

Bids submitted after the deadline will not be considered. Vendors may submit for one lot, all lots, or any combination of lots described.  Medical LOX supply and transport services and L2G filling operations must be assessed against CHAI’s quality policy. Vendors may be requested to submit additional information and/or cooperate with a site visit from CHAI to the mLOX production site prior to finalizing a purchase order.

Learn about our work on oxygen therapy

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