Steve Peacock's U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor

U.S. Considers Financing Gas Extraction Projects in Central Asia

The U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) is weighing whether to partially subsidize a coal-bed methane extraction project in the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. The agency will pay a U.S. contractor $60,000 to develop a “feasibility study” of the project before proceeding with additional financing or technical assistance. USTDA is providing a grant for the study on behalf of the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and New Technologies, or MINT, as well as at the request of ArcelorMittau —“the largest owner of coal resources in Kazakhstan,” according to the solicitation (#RFQ-CO201161288).

FOR ADDITIONAL REGIONAL COVERAGE, PLEASE VISIT THE MONITOR'S AZERBAIJAN AND KAZAKHSTAN PAGES.

FOR ADDITIONAL COVERAGE OF THE U.S. TRADE & DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, PLEASE VISIT THE MONITOR'S USTDA PAGE.

 

USAID Dumping $50 Million into Central Asia Trade & Reform Project

$50 million in contracts recently were awarded to four vendors under an initiative that seeks to promote economic growth in Central Asia, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) revealed today. Contracting documents indicate that the program will benefit "failed states" that have poor banking and other economic policies and institutions: 

"A wealthier, healthier and more stable Central Asia will be characterized by increasing trade and investment between countries among which economic interests are aligned. It will also be characterized by the establishment of mutually beneficial commercial ties with neighboring countries such as Russia and China."

The $50 million figure encompasses an estimated ceiling for the Macroeconomic Foundations for Growth program (Solicitation #SOL-176-11-00000-2), for which the agency awarded indefinite quantity contracts, or IQCs, to Chemonics International, Inc., Deloitte Consulting, LLP, Pragma Corporation, and AECOM International Development. The vendors each will receive an unspecified number of  "task orders" over five years, during which time they could execute a variety of potential initiatives in the nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Chemonics, Deloitte, Pragma, and AECOM will provide training, research, and technical and advisory services that USAID hopes "will improve the macro environment for business enterprise formation and growth, trade, and domestic and foreign investment" in Central Asia.  The project will seek to accomplish those goals through:

1) Legal and institutional reform;

2) Financial sector reform and expansion;

3) Economic policy and institutions development;

4) Trade and investment, and:

5) Addressing exogenous shocks, assistance to ease the adjustment to exogenous economic and financial shocks that cause short and medium-term development problems affecting the national business environment and potential to generate economic growth.

6) Stabilization – Crisis Assistance Projects.

Although USAID technically awarded the contracts on July 1, the agency did not announce them via the Federal Business Opportunities database until July 11.

U.S.-Funded Projects Increase as Kazakhstan Power-Brokers Curry Favor From Washington

A trio of initiatives aimed at modernizing the infrastructure of oil-rich Kazakhstan—while simultaneously benefiting U.S. consulting firms—was unveiled, albeit without without fanfare, by the federal government. The U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) late last week began its search for Kazakh project vendors at a time when the U.S. increasingly is becoming embroiled in a tempestuous controversy between the Kazakh President and his exiled son-in-law.

According to The New York Times, Rakhat Aliyev, son-in-law to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has taken his case to Washington in search of safe passage to the United States. Aliyev, whom Kazakh authorities had accused of kidnapping an oil company executive, is intent on recovering $2 billion allegedly stolen from family members—or simply is trying to smear his father-in-law’s reputation on the global stage, the Times reported (NYT, May 29, “Feud in Kazakh President’s Family Spills Into U.S."). Aliyev reportedly is hiding in an undisclosed European nation, while both he and President Nazarbayev concurrently strive to gain favor in the U.S., the Times says:

With billions of dollars at stake, plenty of people here have been willing to play bit roles in the Nazarbayev family drama, including teams of corporate lawyers, Capitol Hill lobbyists, a former American ambassador to Kazakhstan and the sister of a lawmaker. The dueling lobbyists have appealed to more than three dozen members of Congress, either to condemn the Kazakh government or help form pro-Kazakhstan caucuses. (One congressman even nominated the president for the Nobel Peace Prize.)

While there is no direct link between the timing of U.S.-funded projects and these revelations, nonetheless within three days of the Times report USTDA issued several Requests for Proposals for various consulting contracts, U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor discovered via routine database research. The initial cost of these endeavors does not include potential, subsequent financing to execute the Kazakh projects.

The Rail Signaling and Train Control Systems Project (Solicitation #2010-81027A-1) needs a U.S. consulting firm to carry out a “feasibility study” on behalf of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, also known as KTZ or Kazakhstan Railways. The study, to be made possible with a $655,000 agency grant, will:

1. Evaluate the current status of KTZ's Rail signaling and train control systems;

2. Evaluate current technologies to determine the best fit for KTZ's current and future train control and rail signaling plans;

3. Develop technical specifications for updating KTZ's equipment on a system wide or rail corridor by corridor basis;

4. Develop cost estimates of the above recommended systems.

The Kazkahstan Monitoring and Diagnostic Systems Technical Assistance Project (Solicitation # 2010-81028A-1) requires a U.S. consulting firm to offer “technical assistance” to the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), which is “100% owned by the national state holding company, Samruk-Kazyna,” according to the solicitation (#2010-81028A-1). This technical assistance, which the agency will fund with a $392,000 grant, will:

1. Evaluate the current status of KEGOC's transmission line monitoring equipment and program;

2. Evaluate current technologies to determine the best fit for KEGOC's current and future monitoring and diagnostic plans;

3. Develop technical specifications for updating the KEGOC's equipment, and guidelines to update KEGOC's monitoring and inspection routines;

4. Prepare tender documentation for procuring the above systems.

The Definitional Mission for Kazakhstan: Gas Utilization and Coal Bed Methane Project (Solicitation #RFQ-CO201161209) seeks a vendor to assess whether the U.S. should provide financing for future modernization initiatives. The estimated cost is $35,000.

Separately, the Monitor discovered today (June 7) at deadline that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) issued a call to the private sector for an Almaty, Kazakhstan-based Strategy and Program Office Director. The position, which pays an annual salary in the $99,628-$129,517 range, will help to oversee an estimated $115 million in annual programs via USAID’s Regional Mission for Central Asian Republics, according to the solicitation (#27-2011).

Indeed, USAID has provided the bulk of aid for contracts awarded in support of ventures in Kazakhstan. USAID in 2010, for example, awarded contracts to vendors for the following endeavors:

Oct. 4; Regional Trade Liberalization and Customs Project; $16.1 million contract to AECOM International Development, Inc.

Sept. 28; Parliamentary-Strengthening-Program; sole-source, non-competitive $3.25 million contract to Development Alternatives, Inc.

Sept. 13; Quality Health Care Project for Central Asia; $72 million contract to Abt Associates.

July 13: Business Environment Improvement Project; sole-source, non-competitive $20.5 million contract to The Pragma Corporation.

USTDA-funded Kazakhstan initiatives in 2010 include:

May 6; Definitional Mission for Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan Rail Sector Projects; $50,000 contract to The Seneca Group, LLC.

March 1; Definitional Mission: Kazakhstan/Azerbaijan Maritime Vessel Traffic Systems/Port Security Projects; $38,000 contract to Telematics Engineering Corp, a Reston, Va., firm (no website could be found).

Feb. 26; Definitional Mission:  Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan Aviation Projects; $49,000 contract to Airline Capital Associates, Inc., (d/b/a ACA Associates, Inc.)

USAID and USTDA, plus several other U.S. government entities, have awarded dozens of additional contracts to vendors for Kazakh projects since 2002, a search of federal procurement records show.  The numbers of contracts awarded annually, however, increased significantly in the past two years.