Tenders by sealed bids for a concession agreement to operate and maintain a Retail Concession at Lihue Airport, Lihue, Kauai (“Concession”), for a period of five (5) years will be received by the State of Hawaii, by its Director of Transportation, c/o Airports Division, Property Management Staff, Department of Transportation, Honolulu International Airport, Inter Island Terminal Building, 400 Rodgers Boulevard, Suite 700, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819-1880 (“Airports Office”), up to 2:00 p.m. on, Tuesday, January 19, 2010, at which time and place they will be publicly opened and read. The State reserves the right to cancel the bid opening for any reason whatsoever.

The Concession bid documents describing the Concession, including, without limitation, the Concession Agreement, may be obtained from the State, located at the Airports Office. The Concession bid documents may be purchased upon the tender of the nonrefundable sum of TWENTY-FIVE AND NO/100 DOLLARS ($25.00) in United States currency or certified check. The Concession bid documents are subject to revision at any time prior to bid opening. All persons who have purchased the Concession bid documents will be notified of and provided copies of such revisions, if any.

The Concession bid documents for the Concession will include (1) this Notice to Bidders, (2) Instructions to Bidders, (3) Bid Intent Package, including the Notice of Intention to Bid, (4) Bid Proposal Package, (5) Concession Agreement, (6) Concession Bond form, and (7) all of the attachments thereto.

A pre-bid conference will be conducted by the State on Tuesday, August 4, 2009, commencing at 9:00 a.m., to familiarize prospective bidders with the nature of the Concession bid documents, including the Concession Agreement. Prospective bidders are advised to attend the pre-bid conference which will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. at the Airports Division, Conference Room C, located at Honolulu International Airport, Inter-Island Terminal Building, 400 Rodgers Boulevard, Suite 700, Honolulu, Hawaii.

State representatives will be available to preliminarily respond to questions at this conference. Any oral responses given by State representatives at the pre-bid conference will be preliminary and subject to further revisions and clarification. Questions needing a final, formal response from the State should be submitted in writing. The deadline for submitting all written questions, including the resubmission of any submitted for the pre-bid conference, which a prospective bidder desires to obtain the State’s written response for will be 4:00 p.m., HST on Friday, August 28, 2009. The State will provide final written responses to all written questions properly submitted by the Friday, August 28, 2009, deadline.

Persons needing special accommodations at the Pre-Bid Conference due to disabilities may notify the Department’s Airports Division by calling (808) 838 8075, or by writing to the State of Hawaii, Department of Transportation, Airports Division, c/o Property Management Staff, Honolulu International Airport, Inter Island Terminal, 400 Rodgers Boulevard, Suite 700, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 1880, or by facsimile at (808) 838-8753.

Each bidder will be required to: (1) fill out and properly complete a Bid Intent Package, including, without limitation, a completed Notice of Intention to Bid and Qualification Questionnaire; and (2) submit the foregoing completed items, together with: (a) financial statement or statements; (b) other documents and tax clearance certificates, to the Department’s Airports Division, located at Honolulu International Airport, Inter Island Terminal Building, 400 Rodgers Boulevard, Suite 700, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96819-1880, not later than 4:00 p.m., on Tuesday, November 24, 2009. The questionnaire(s) included as part of the Bid Intent Package will be considered confidential and will not be made available for inspection by the general public.

The State desires to actively promote the growth and development of Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation in concessions awarded at all public airports in the State of Hawaii. In accordance with Title 49, Subtitle A, Parts 23 and 26, Code of Federal Regulations, entitled “Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in Airport Concessions” and “Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in Department of Transportation Financial Assistance Programs,” respectively, it is the policy of the State to ensure that DBE firms have an equal opportunity to receive and participate in concessions at all public airports. Accordingly, a DBE goal of ten percent (10%) has been established and all qualified DBEs are encouraged to compete for or participate in the Concession. Each business wishing to compete or participate as a DBE must be certified by the State by the deadline (date and time) set for the submission of the Bid Proposal Packages. For information and assistance in applying for DBE certification, please call the State Airports Division DBE Program Manager at (808) 838-8708.

The State reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive any defects in the bids or cancel this invitation for bids when, in the opinion of the State’s Director of Transportation, such rejection, waiver or cancellation will be in the best interest of the State and the general public.