[Bid Information] Regarding Conditional Public Invitation for Bids for Leak Detection Services Contract (Section 5) for Fiscal Year 2026 (2026)

[Bid Information] Regarding Conditional Public Invitation for Bids for Leak Detection Services Contract (Section 5) for Fiscal Year 2026 (2026)
Kumamoto Water Bureau Maintenance No. 306 Date: June 25, 2026 We hereby announce that a conditional public invitation for bids will be held as follows, in accordance with Article 167-6, Paragraph 1 of the Local Autonomy Act (Cabinet Order No. 16 of 1947) and Article 2 of the Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau Contract Management Regulations (2012 Bureau Regulations No. 8), which applies Article 3 of the Kumamoto City Contract Management Regulations (1964 Regulations No. 7). Kenichi Mishima, Water and Sewerage Services Administrator, Kumamoto City 1. Matters for Competitive Bidding: (1) Contracted Services Name: Leak Detection Services Contract (Section 5) for Fiscal Year 2026 (2026) (2) Overview: This service aims to discover and repair underground leaks in distribution pipes, etc., in the area designated by the client, by utilizing satellite image analysis technology, thereby reducing non-revenue water and improving efficiency, as well as preventing secondary disasters caused by underground leaks. (3) Performance Location: Throughout Kumamoto City. (4) Performance Period: From the contract date until March 16, 2027. 2. Department in Charge: Water Maintenance Division, Maintenance Department, Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau, 6-2-45 Suizenji, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, 862-8620. Phone: 096-381-5610 (Direct). 3. Type of Bidding Procedure: This project will be conducted using a method where the qualifications required for participation in conditional public invitation for bids (hereinafter referred to as "Competitive Bidding Qualifications") are confirmed prior to bidding, and the successful bidder is determined based on the results of bids from those recognized as having Competitive Bidding Qualifications. 4. Competitive Bidding Qualifications: All of the following conditions must be met. (1) Must have submitted the "Application for Qualification Examination for Competitive Bidding for Kumamoto City Service Contracts, etc." and be registered in the list of qualified bidders stipulated in Article 5 of the "Guidelines for Qualifications of Bidders for Kumamoto City Service Contracts, etc." (Notice No. 731 of 2008), Article 7 of the "Guidelines for Qualifications of Bidders for Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau Service Contracts, etc.", or the list of qualified contractors stipulated in Article 10 of the "Kumamoto City Construction Bidder Qualification Examination Regulations". (2) Must not fall under any of the provisions of Article 167-4, Paragraph 1 of the Local Autonomy Act (Cabinet Order No. 16 of 1947). (3) If an application for commencement of rehabilitation proceedings under Article 17 of the Corporate Rehabilitation Law (Law No. 154 of 2002) or an application for commencement of reconstruction proceedings under Article 21 of the Civil Reconstruction Law (Law No. 225 of 1999) has been filed, a decision to approve the rehabilitation plan or reconstruction plan must have been made, respectively. (4) Must not fall under Article 3, Item 1 of the "Kumamoto City Measures for Exclusion of Violent Groups, etc. from Contracts" (Notice No. 105 of 2006) and Article 3, Item 1 of the "Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau Measures for Exclusion of Violent Groups, etc. from Contracts". (5) Must not be within the period of suspension of bidding based on the "Kumamoto City Measures for Suspension of Bidding, etc. for Procurement of Goods and Services Contracts" (Notice No. 199 of 2009), the "Kumamoto City Measures for Suspension of Bidding, etc. for Construction and Service Contracts" (Notice No. 108 of 1995), the "Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau Measures for Suspension of Bidding, etc. for Construction and Service Contracts" (Water Services Administrator Decision, February 1, 1981), or the "Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau Measures for Suspension of Bidding, etc. for Procurement of Goods and Services Contracts" (hereinafter referred to as "Suspension of Bidding Guidelines"). (6) Must not be in arrears of consumption tax, local consumption tax, or city taxes. (7) Must be engaged in the business of the contract subject to this competitive bidding as a profession. (8) Must not be a party deemed unsuitable as a contract partner due to violations or dishonest conduct in contracts with the City within the past three years. (9) Must comply with the "Kumamoto City Public Contract Ordinance" (Ordinance No. 54 of 2025), such as by submitting a letter of commitment. (10) Must not be in arrears of Kumamoto City water charges and Kumamoto City sewerage fees. (11) Must have experience in leak detection services using artificial satellites, directly contracted from the ordering party, completed in Japan on or after fiscal year 2016 (limited to long-term leak detection services for distribution and supply pipes managed by water utilities, where one project exceeds 300 km of distribution pipe). (12) Must have experience in performing both satellite-based leak detection and on-site leak detection based on the results thereof as a single integrated service. (13) Must have a head office, branch office, business office, or similar business base within the Kyushu region. (14) Must not be currently performing leak detection services commissioned by the Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau as of the bid opening date of this project. (15) If applying as a business cooperative (a business cooperative as defined in Article 3 of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Cooperatives Act (Law No. 181 of 1949)), its members cannot apply as individual entities. If participating as a business cooperative, the member responsible for operations must also meet all requirements of (5) and (8) to (10). 5. Application Procedures, etc.: (1) Application Period and Method for Application Forms, Specifications, etc.: From June 25, 2026 (Thursday) to July 6, 2026 (Monday). These will be posted on the Kumamoto City website and the Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau website, and distributed at the department in charge (excluding city holidays) upon request. Delivery by mail or electronic transmission (fax, email, etc.) will not be provided. Distribution at the department in charge will be from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Downloads are available on the Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau website during operating hours. Specifications and other design documents will be available for viewing at the department in charge until the bid date. (2) Submission Method for Application Forms, etc.: Applicants wishing to participate in this bid must submit an "Application for Confirmation of Competitive Bidding Qualifications" and an "Examination Sheet for Competitive Bidding Qualifications" and other necessary documents (hereinafter referred to as "Application Documents, etc.") and obtain confirmation from the Administrator regarding their qualifications. Submission methods are as follows: A. Submission Documents and Method: Submit by hand or mail. If submitting by mail, use a method that leaves a delivery record, such as registered mail or certified mail; methods that do not leave a delivery record will not be accepted. (a) Application for Confirmation of Competitive Bidding Qualifications (Form No. 1) (b) Examination Sheet for Competitive Bidding Qualifications (Form No. 2) (c) Bidder's Experience in Similar Services (Form No. 3-1) (Form No. 3-2) (Similar service experience must be completed by the submission date of the application documents.) (d) Copy of Contract for Similar Services (Required). If this alone is insufficient to prove experience, supplementary documents (drawings, specifications, or confirmation from the ordering party, etc.) may be submitted. (e) Water Charge Arrears Investigation Consent Form (Form No. 4). B. Submission Deadline: July 6, 2026 (Monday) by 5:00 PM. If submitting by mail, it must arrive by July 6, 2026 (Monday). Lost or delayed mail due to unforeseen accidents will not be considered. C. Number of Copies: 1 copy. D. Submission Location: (a) For submission by hand: Department in charge (see 2). (b) For submission by mail: To the Water and Sewerage Services Administrator (Water Maintenance Division, Maintenance Department, Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau), 6-2-45 Suizenji, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, 862-8620. Please clearly mark "Contracted Services Name" and "Application for Confirmation of Competitive Bidding Qualifications Enclosed" on the outer envelope. E. Notes: (a) Fill out the forms as of the date of submission. (b) If document (a)(d) is not attached, the experience will not be recognized. Also, if the documents submitted under (a)(d) are insufficient to prove the experience, the experience will not be recognized. (c) If applying as a business cooperative, fill in the "Name of Member Responsible for Operations" section of the Examination Sheet for Competitive Bidding Qualifications (Form No. 2). If it is difficult to identify the member responsible for operations, multiple candidate members may be listed. In this case, if even one member does not meet the requirements of 4(15), the competitive bidding qualification will not be recognized. (3) Confirmation of Competitive Bidding Qualifications will be made as of the deadline for submission of Application Documents, etc., and the results (including reasons if qualifications are not recognized) will be notified in writing. 6. Explanation of Reasons for Disqualification: (1) Those who receive notification of disqualification may request an explanation of the reasons from the Administrator in writing (free format) within 7 days (excluding holidays) from the day after the notification. (2) Upon receiving such a request, the Administrator will respond in writing within 5 days (excluding holidays) from the day after the final day for requesting an explanation. 7. Bid Explanation Meeting: Not to be held. 8. Questions Regarding Specifications, etc.: (1) If there are any questions regarding the specifications, submit a written request as follows: A. Submission Method: Submit in writing (free format) by hand, fax, or email. For fax or email, confirm receipt by phone. B. Submission Period: From June 25, 2026 (Thursday) to July 22, 2026 (Wednesday) (excluding holidays), from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. C. Submission Location: Department in charge (see 2). Fax: 096-381-5612. Email: suidouiji@city.kumamoto.lg.jp. (2) Answers to the questions in (1) will be made available for viewing as follows. They will also be posted on the Kumamoto City website and the Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau website. A. Viewing Period: From July 23, 2026 (Thursday) to July 30, 2026 (Thursday). B. Viewing Location: Department in charge (see 2). 9. Measures for Single Bidder: If there is only one bidder, a new announcement will be made to extend the deadline for submitting application documents. In this case, the competitive bidding qualifications or performance period may be changed as necessary. 10. Bidding and Bid Opening, etc.: (1) Those confirmed to have competitive bidding qualifications by the notification in 5(3) shall participate in the bidding according to the following method. Submit by hand or mail. Submissions by electronic transmission (fax, email, etc.) will not be accepted. If a proxy submits by hand, a letter of proxy must be submitted separately. Lost or delayed mail due to unforeseen accidents will not be considered. (b) Submission Method: Place the bid in an envelope, seal it, and write "Contracted Services Name", "Bid Enclosed", and "Bidder Name" on it. The envelope shall be double-layered. Seal the outer envelope and write "Contracted Services Name", "Bid Enclosed", "Bidder Name", and "Personal" on it. If a re-bid is anticipated, place the re-bid form in a separate inner envelope, seal it, clearly write "Contracted Services Name" and "Bidder Name" on it, and enclose it in the outer envelope, marked as "Re-bid Enclosed" (or "Second Re-bid Enclosed"). (c) Submission Address: To the Water and Sewerage Services Administrator (Water Maintenance Division, Maintenance Department, Kumamoto City Water and Sewerage Bureau), 6-2-45 Suizenji, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, 862-8620. (2) For the determination of the successful bidder, the bid price will be the amount stated in the bid plus 10% of that amount (if there is a fraction of less than one yen, it will be rounded down). Therefore, bidders shall state the amount equivalent to 100/110 of their estimated contract amount in their bid, regardless of whether they are subject to or exempt from consumption tax. (3) The number of bidding rounds will be up to three (the second and subsequent rounds will be conducted consecutively). If a re-bid form is not submitted, the bidder will be deemed to have withdrawn from the re-bid (the same applies to the second re-bid). (4) Once a bid is submitted, it cannot be exchanged or withdrawn, regardless of whether the bid has been opened. (5) If a single bidder is found to have submitted multiple bids, the bids will be opened for confirmation, and all bids will be invalidated. (6) In addition to Article 7 of the "Kumamoto City Construction Bid Conditions" (Notice No. 107 of 1990), bids submitted with false information in the application documents will be invalidated, and if the successful bidder is found to have submitted an invalid bid, the award decision will be revoked. Furthermore, even if a bidder is confirmed to have competitive bidding qualifications, if they no longer meet the competitive bidding qualifications stipulated in 4 at the time of the award decision, they will be considered to have no competitive bidding qualifications. (7) Invalid bids will not be returned. (8) Bids will be opened immediately after the bid submission deadline of July 30, 2026 (Thursday) at 11:00 AM. If bidders do not attend the bid opening, an employee not involved in the bidding process will be present. 11. Method of Determining the Successful Bidder: (1) The bidder who submits the lowest valid bid within the limit of the estimated price will be the successful bidder. (2) If there are two or more bidders who submit the same lowest bid, the successful bidder will be determined by lottery. (3) A minimum reserve price will not be set.