Consultancy to assist with the Technical, and operational, environmental and social Due Diligence – Drenas’ Industrial Zone Infrastructure Project

Item Description:

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was founded in 1991 to create a new post-Cold War era in central and eastern Europe, furthering progress towards ‘market-oriented economies and the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative’. The EBRD is owned by 67 countries from five continents, as well as the European Union and the European Investment Bank.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (the“MTI”) of Kosovo has approached the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the “EBRD” or the “Bank”) with a request to finance an extension of an existing industrial zone (the “IZ”) located in the Municipality of Drenas.

As a result, the Bank is considering a sovereign loan of up to EUR 10 million in order to finance investments in main municipal infrastructure, including: construction of roads in the zone and their connection to the main road, construction of a water supply network within the zone, construction of electrical grids within the zone and their connection with the main existing electrical grid of the zone, construction of a gas network, construction of a sewage system for treatment of waste and industrial waters and construction of a wastewater treatment plant (the “Project”).

Assignment Description:

In the context of the Project the Bank is now seeking to engage a consultant (the “Consultant”) in order to assist with the technical, financial and operational, environmental and social due diligence for the proposed Project prior to EBRD making its financing decision (the “Assignment”).

For the implementation of the Assignment the Consultant will be required to perform the following services (the “Services”):

• Validate the efficacy of the solution proposed: Perform technical due diligence on the Project to be financed by EBRD including cost estimates, financial and economic internal rates of return and justification of the proposed investments;
• Prepare a cost-benefit analysis of the Project;
• Carry out an Environmental and Social (“E&S”) gap analysis of the Project and prepare an Environmental and Social Action Plan (“ESAP”), and ensure that the prepared Stakeholder Engagement Plan (“SEP”) for the Project complies with EBRD’s Environmental and Social Policy (“ESP”) requirements;
• Prepare and update the implementation arrangements including determination of an efficient implementation strategy for the Project;
• Prepare the design of the industrial zone, including water supply, road infrastructure, gas supply, sewage system, etc;
• Identify synergies in terms of infrastructure with regards to the existing IZ;
• Preparation of financial projections of the IZ;
• Identification of potential demand and overall dimension of the IZ;
• Develop a comprehensive marketing and promotion plan for attracting potential investors to the IZ;
• Develop a tariff methodology which is cost reflective to achieve capex and opex recovery from tenants;
• Determine an eligibility criteria suitable for the plots to be auctioned via an auction model;
• Explore the possibility of setting up a vocational training centre in the new IZ;
• The Consultant will liaise with the consultant mobilised to identify the most suitable implementing agency;
• Carry out a survey to private sector companies and based on the survey and the needs identified, develop the IZ’s strategy and objective.

Full Terms of Reference (the “ToRs”) of the Assignment can be found here : http://www.ebrd.com/documents/procurement/tors-76724.docx

Consultant Selection Procedure:

Single stage open competitive selection.

Interested firms or groups of firms are invited to submit a Technical and Financial Proposal.

Assignment Start Date and Duration:

The Assignment is expected to start in Q1 2019 and has an estimated overall duration of up to 5 weeks.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 250,000 (exclusive of VAT).

The Consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the special status of the Bank as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a Consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purchased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.

Subject to availability of funding, the performance of the selected Consultant and the business needs, the Assignment may be extended beyond the current scope.

Funding Source:

It is anticipated that the contract will be financed by the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund.

Eligibility:

There are no eligibility restrictions based on the Consultant’s nationality.

Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required.

The Consultant will be a firm or a group of firms preferably with previous project experience related to this Assignment, especially in the mobilisation of the right mix of qualified foreign and local experts, as required, for the different tasks’ and experience in the activity which they are proposed for in a similar position including industrial zones projects, urban development, infrastructure planning, support and attraction of local and international investors along with local expertise and experience in the field.

The Consultant’s expert team is expected to include the following key experts (the ‘Key Experts’):

1. Project Manager/Team Leader-(Key Expert 1) – with academic qualifications and preferably at least 15 years of comprehensive project experience preferably in:

• the field of industrial zones and urban development;
• similar assignments in the region or in EBRD’s countries of operations
• Management and administration, including experience with the procedures of international financing Institutions).
• Knowledge of English and Albanian

2. Investment promotion specialist- (Key Expert 2) – with preferably 5-7 years of project experience:

• in supporting promotion of/attracting domestic and foreign investment preferably in countries of operation of the Bank;
• Knowledge of English and Albanian

3. Infrastructure finance specialist- (Key Expert 3) – with preferably 5-7 years of project experience:

• in conducting feasibility studies for infrastructure projects, including industrial zones preferably in countries of operation of the Bank;
• Knowledge of English and Albanian

4. Physical Infrastructure and Land development specialist- (Key Expert 4)- with preferably 5-7 years of project experience in:

• industrial zone planning;
• urban development and infrastructure planning (including energy, water supply, transportation and communication), preferably in countries of operations of the Bank;
• Knowledge of English and Albanian

5. Environmental, Social and Health & Safety Specialist(s)- (Key Expert 5) – with preferably 5-7 years of experience in :

• environmental and social projects, including experience with the procedures of international financing institutions or countries of operation of the Bank; and
• Knowledge of English and Albanian.).

Submission Requirements:

Interested consultants are now invited to submit a completed Technical and Financial Proposal as per the standard templates and instructions available here: http://www.ebrd.com/documents/procurement/single-stage-package.docx.

Interested Consultants should make themselves familiar with these Standard Templates, Standard Instructions and Conditions of Contract in preparation of their proposals.

1. The Technical Proposal shall be submitted in English electronically via eSelection not later than the Closing Date, as one single PDF file. The Technical Proposal should not exceed 40 pages excluding the Declaration Form and CVs (Form 1- TP 1 and Form 1 – TP 6).
2. The Financial Proposal (Form 2 – FP 1 and FP2) shall be submitted in English separately by email only to the Bank Contact Person.

Consultants are reminded of the requirement to ensure the confidentiality of the Financial Proposals.

A Technical Proposal that contains elements of a Financial Proposal shall be declared non-responsive.

A Financial proposal submitted together with the technical proposals via eSelection shall be declared non-responsive.

Bank Contact Person:

Aspasia Tsekeri- Associate

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

One Exchange Square

London EC2A 2JN

E-Mail: tsekeria@ebrd.com

Technical proposals should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address.

Financial proposals should be sent to this email address and NOT through eSelection.

Deadline to Submit Clarification Questions: Via e-mail to the Bank Contact Person two weeks before the deadline for applications at the latest

Selection Method and Evaluation Criteria:

1. Technical Proposal Evaluation Criteria

(a) Firm’s previous project experience in similar assignments (25%);

(b) Quality of the methodology proposed for the Assignment (25 %); and

(c) CVs of the Key Experts (50 %).

The minimum technical score (St) required to pass is 70.

2. Opening of Financial Proposals

After the technical evaluation is completed, only the submissions which score 70 or above of the total marks available for the technical criteria will be eligible to have their financial proposals opened.

3. Combined Technical and Financial Evaluation

The lowest evaluated Financial Proposal (Fm) is given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 100. The formula for determining the financial scores (Sf) of all other Proposals is calculated as follows:

Sf = 100 x Fm/ F, in which “Sf” is the financial score, “Fm” is the lowest evaluated Financial Proposal, and “F” the price of the Proposal under consideration.

Proposals are then ranked according to their combined technical (St) and financial (Sf) scores using the weights (T = 80; F = 20) T + F = 100 as follows: S = St x T% + Sf x F%.

Important Notes:

1. The proposal validity period is 120 days from the deadline date for the receipt of submissions. During this period, the Consultant shall maintain its original Proposal without any change, including the availability of the Experts, the proposed rates and the total price.
2. The selection will be made from the Proposals received in response to this notification only, on the basis of the submission requirements and selection criteria set out in this Procurement Notice. The highest-ranked Consultant will be selected and invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
3. Any updates of and clarifications on this procurement notice shall be announced as updates on this notice, without any other notification. In the event of changes consultants will need to download the updated versions. Consultants are required to periodically check the notice for updates. Failure to take the updates into account while preparing the Proposal may result in disqualification or penalties to the scores in the evaluation.