Notice is hereby given that The Board of Commissioners for the Port of New Orleans is soliciting bids for the Crane 9 Headblock Replacement. Official bid documents are available for download from Central Bidding at www.centralbidding.com and the Sebconnect App.

The Board strongly encourages the acquisition of goods and services from and direct participation of eligible business entities (“EBEs”) as defined in the Board’s Small Business Opportunity Program. The Program is a race- and gender-neutral program intended to provide additional contracting and p r o c u r e m e n t opportunities for certified eligible businesses by encouraging contractors who receive state contracts to use good-faith efforts to utilize such certified entities in the performance of those contracts.

The Board desires to achieve, to the greatest extent possible, commercially meaningful and useful participation by EBEs. By providing equitable opportunities for EBEs, The Board derives multiple benefits, including contributing to the economic vitality of our communities and ensuring a broader selection of competitively priced goods and services

Bidders should present a responsible plan that provides for participation of qualified EBEs. Bidders should clearly state EBE participation goals and their plan for implementation of the same in their bid. Bidders should also include information relative to the participation levels Bidder has managed on other prior projects.

Participation shall be counted toward meeting the contract goals only by business entities certified designated in the Program. The direct participation goal can be achieved through direct ownership, joint venture participation, owner/operator agreements, or sublease agreements for operations. Participation shall include work opportunities in planning, development, construction, and operation of the Project.
The Board accepts the following certifications: (1) the SLDBE program run by the City of New Orleans, (2) the state of Louisiana’s Department of Economic Development’s SBE Hudson Initiative program, (3) The Louisiana Unified certification Program, or (4) the Federal Small business Enterprise Program. Bids shall include evidence of a current certification.

PRE-BID CONFERENCE: An optional pre-bid conference will be held at the Board’s Nashville Napoleon Terminal Complex located at 4951 Terminal Drive New Orleans, LA 70115 at 10:00 am (CST) on Thursday, January 16, 2025.  Attendance via video conference will be accommodated upon request.  Send requests to [email protected].

BID SUBMISSION: PONO will accept electronic bids for this Project until 10:00 a.m. CDT on Thursday, January 30, 2025 (the “Bid Submission Deadline”). Any bid received after the Bid Submission Deadline will not be considered. Bidders must be submitted electronically at www.centralbidding.com   For any questions relating to the electronic bidding process, please call Central Bidding at 225-810-4814. 
 
BID OPENING: Immediately following the Bid Submission Deadline, bids will be opened in accordance with the bid documents.
 
PONO CONTACT: Respondents must submit Questions in writing to [email protected] by Tuesday, January 21, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. CDT. As necessary, addenda to this ITB will be issued to all respondents receiving this ITB. Questions, answers, and all forms required will be posted on www.centralbidding.com.