Solicitation
Guatemala - Tactical Dock
Department of State
AI summaryThe U.S. Embassy Guatemala City (State Department), for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), wants one tactical floating dock built and installed in Retalhuleu, Guatemala. The work is a firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work costs) construction job with 30 calendar days to finish after the notice to proceed (NTP: the written go-ahead). The response due date is December 4, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern on SAM.gov; the RFQ says 17:00 hours. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
This summary may miss requirements: 11 of 12 attachments weren't read (12.jpeg, 11.jpeg and 9 more). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The U.S. Embassy Guatemala City (State Department), for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), wants one tactical floating dock built and installed in Retalhuleu, Guatemala. The work is a firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work costs) construction job with 30 calendar days to finish after the notice to proceed (NTP: the written go-ahead). The response due date is December 4, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern on SAM.gov; the RFQ says 17:00 hours.
Who can bid (10)
- Registered in SAM.gov before submitting the offer, with proof of registration and the SAM UEI
- An office in Guatemala City, or a plan to establish one within 30 days of contract award
- Registered to do business in Guatemala, or an existing partner with a business registered there, to give maintenance, repairs and spare parts
Show all 10Show fewer
- All licenses and permits required by local law
- Meet all local insurance requirements
- Ability to obtain or post performance security such as bonds, irrevocable letters of credit or guarantees from a reputable financial institution
- Prior construction experience shown with suitable references
- Able to understand written and spoken English
- Technically qualified and financially responsible, with the personnel, equipment and financial resources to do the work
- No adverse criminal record and no political or business affiliation that could be considered contrary to the interests of the United States
How to submit: Email to GuatemalaBids@state.gov; the company name and solicitation number 19GT5027Q0004 go in the subject line. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (13)
From the version posted Oct 22, 2026.
- Serious: Office in Guatemala City needed. A bidder must have a permanent business address and phone in Guatemala City, or plan to open an office within 30 days of award, which a U.S. small business may not be able to do.
- Serious: Guatemalan business registration, licenses and permits. The contractor must be registered to do business in Guatemala (or work with a partner that is) and hold all local licenses and permits; the contractor also handles environmental approvals with the Guatemalan ministry.
- Serious: Bonds or other performance security. Bidders must be able to obtain or post bonds, letters of credit or guarantees from a reputable financial institution. The form's bond and offer-guarantee checkboxes couldn't be read; check the form on SAM.gov.
Show all 13Show fewer
- Worth checking: 30-day finish after design, studies and approvals. The whole job must be finished in 30 calendar days after the notice to proceed, yet soil studies, 65% and 100% designs and INL approval come before any building starts. Ask how the time is counted.
- Worth checking: Liquidated damages of $250 per day. Late completion costs the contractor $250 for each calendar day of delay.
- Worth checking: Email or sealed offers. The cover letter says to email the offer to GuatemalaBids@state.gov, while SF 1442 item 13a speaks of sealed offers in original and copies delivered to the embassy address. Offers sent to other email addresses may not be valid.
- Worth checking: Currency and VAT fall on the contractor. Payment is in the currency shown on the SF 1442 (not readable here), with no price change for exchange rates. VAT must be a separate line item.
- Worth checking: Importer of record and customs clearance. The U.S. Government does not handle customs clearance; the contractor must clear the goods and handle any duty exemption.
- Worth checking: Warranty terms differ between sections. The statement of work asks for a 10-year manufacturer warranty and 1 year on other works like civil works. The evaluation criteria favor more than 5 years on installation.
- Worth checking: Defense Base Act insurance and local insurance. The price must include Defense Base Act insurance premiums and any local insurance. The insurance amounts table was not in the text read here.
- Minor: Site visit on November 18, 2026. One section says attending is voluntary and not a prerequisite; another says quoters are urged and expected to inspect the site. Details must be requested by email by November 13, 2026, 17:00 hours.
- Minor: All-or-none award. Award is on an all-or-none basis, so a quote must cover every priced item.
- Minor: Security list of workers after award. Within 10 calendar days after award the contractor sends the name, place and date of birth, address and identification number of every worker and supervisor for security checks.
Read from the notice and 1 attachment. 11 of 12 not read. Show which files.
- 19GT5027Q0004 - GTM - Tactical Dock.pdf (read)
- 12.jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- 11.jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- 10.jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- 8.jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- 7.jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- 6.jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- 5.jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- 2 .jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- 4.jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- 3.jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- 1.jpeg: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Build and install one tactical floating dock: 3 standard polyethylene dock sections, 1 wood deck platform, 1 wood gangway, and a reinforced concrete walkway to the operations base
- Field-verify site conditions, then do the geotechnical (soil) study and the Guatemalan environmental permitting the work needs
- Send 65% and 100% design packages and shop drawings for INL approval; no fabrication or construction starts until INL approves the 100% package
- Ship and import the materials (the contractor is importer of record), install, and test the work; INL then has 10 business days to inspect and accept
- Give 2 sets of as-built drawings (AutoCAD and PDF), catalogs, warranties and operation and maintenance manuals in English and Spanish
- Train Navy personnel on how the systems work and how to maintain them; the training must be video recorded
- After award: construction schedule 5 days after award, insurance and the preconstruction conference 10 days after award, and a list of workers and supervisors for security checks within 10 calendar days
- Keep an English-speaking supervisor on site at all times
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (FFP) construction contract with a limited pre-construction design and installation-coordination part; the RFQ says it is not a design-build contract
- Period of performance
- Begin work within 5 calendar days and finish within 30 calendar days after the notice to proceed
- Place of performance
- Retalhuleu, Guatemala (outside the United States)
- Estimated value
- $15,000 to $30,000 (the solicitation's anticipated price range)
- How they'll choose
- Lowest price technically acceptable: award to the lowest priced, acceptable, responsible quoter, on an all-or-none basis, without discussions unless the competitive range needs them
- Offers due
- Dec 4, 2026, 5:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email to GuatemalaBids@state.gov; the company name and solicitation number 19GT5027Q0004 go in the subject line
What they'll judge offers on
- Price: lowest total, found by multiplying offered prices by the schedule quantities
- Acceptability: compliance with the RFQ terms, experience in dock construction (certificates, contracts, letters of satisfaction, photographs), experience installing EZ Dock or equivalent modular floating dock systems
- Technical Approach: schedule, work plan, equipment and installation procedure, and whether it is feasible, practical and appropriate
- Warranty: more than 10 years on the floating structure, more than 5 years on installation, and local after-sales service
- Technical support: manuals, training, maintenance and spare parts availability, plus the proposed delivery time frame
- Responsibility under FAR Part 9: ability to meet the performance period, integrity record, organization and skills, equipment, and eligibility for award
What to include when you submit
- Send Volume I: Standard Form 1442 (SF 1442: the solicitation, offer and award form for construction) with the completed Bill of Quantities, 1 copy
- Send Volume II: a performance schedule as a bar chart, plus the Business Management/Technical Proposal, 1 copy
- The cover letter also lists proof of SAM registration with the SAM unique entity ID (UEI) as a required part of the quotation
- The Business Management/Technical Proposal lists the owners, partners and principal officers, the field superintendent, and the subcontractors and principal materials suppliers with the work each will do
- List all contracts and subcontracts held over the past three years for the same or similar work, with customer contacts, contract number and type, dates, place, dollar value, description, and any litigation now or within the last 5 years
- Include an operation plan for quality control in the offer, and present any standard design alternatives in the offer
- Identify and explain any deviations, exceptions or conditional assumptions in the appropriate volume
- Include the Defense Base Act (DBA) insurance premium (insurance for U.S. Government contract workers abroad) in the price, and show Value Added Tax (VAT) as a separate line
- Send files only as .pdf, .tif or .gif, each attachment 10MB or smaller, in English; incomplete proposals will not be accepted
- Expect an automatic reply from the GuatemalaBids@state.gov inbox; if none comes, email SerechZA@state.gov
- Complete the representations and certifications in Section L (taxpayer identification, annual representations, covered telecommunications, and others)
After award, you must have
- An English-speaking supervisor on site at all times during the work (key personnel) From 19GT5027Q0004 - GTM - Tactical Dock.pdf:
The Contractor shall provide an English speaking supervisor on site at all times.
Not in the notice text
- Attachment 1 (the drawings, 11 image files) is attached on SAM.gov but was not read here: 1.jpeg, 2 .jpeg, 3.jpeg, 4.jpeg, 5.jpeg, 6.jpeg, 7.jpeg, 8.jpeg, 10.jpeg, 11.jpeg, 12.jpeg
- The currency of payment named on the SF 1442 and the form's checkboxes (bonds required, offer guarantee, mandatory or negotiable performance period) couldn't be read; check the form on SAM.gov
- The insurance types and minimum amounts under Section G.1.0 are not in the text read here
- The Bill of Quantities that must go with the SF 1442 is not in the text read here; the pricing table in Section A lists 14 items
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to GuatemalaBids@state.gov; the company name and solicitation number 19GT5027Q0004 go in the subject line. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 22, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- U.S.Embassy Guatemala City
- Product/service code
- 5450 · Miscellaneous Prefabricated Structures
- Business type
- Manufactured parts & equipment (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 332312)
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala requires the acquisition and installation of a floating dock system for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in support of the Guatemalan Government.
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