procurement notice

5721-EOI-17149

Pursuant to the Framework Agreement between the Republic of Bulgaria and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund (KIDSF) in Bulgaria, administered by the EBRD, has been financing and co-financing preparation and implementation of selected projects that would assist in the necessary restructuring, upgrading and modernisation of the energy production, transmission and distribution sectors and to improve energy efficiency.

A Pilot Project for improving energy efficiency and energy consumption in public buildings was implemented in 2005-2006. The replacement of the windows of buildings was the main objective of the rehabilitation, but the measures have also included the modernization of existing energy installations. The results have demonstrated significant savings in the energy consumption of the buildings and reduced the losses. The competitive survey, launched by the Bulgarian Government, resulted in number of applications from municipalities, requesting support for improvements of the energy balance of public buildings. Based on the exceptionally positive outcome of the earlier Pilot Project, the Ministry of Economy and Energy (MEE) is implementing a new Public Building Project for rehabilitation of 52 public buildings in 9 municipalities. The selection of Contractor for the implementation is ongoing.

In order to assist in the monitoring of implementation and assess the results of the Project, MEE intends to use the services of an Independent Supervisor (IS).

The IS shall be expected to accomplish the following tasks:

• Train nominated representatives of the Beneficiaries of the Sub-projects how to perform day-to-day supervision of the relevant Sub-project: how to inspect, verify and report the implementation;
• Advise the Beneficiaries on any other issues related to the daily supervision of the implementation;
• Authorize changes, proposed by the Contractor;
• Validate successful partial/overall completion of the Sub-projects/Project by the Contractor based on the reports of the Beneficiaries;
• Authorize payments to the Contractor;
• Develop a methodology for monitoring and proving the effect of implemented measures;
• Make preliminary evaluation of the effect of the measures implemented, based on the inputs of the energy efficiency assessment of the buildings before the project implementation.

The IS shall be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in Section 5 of the EBRD Procurement Policies and Rules.

Assignment Start Date and Duration: Anticipated start date is 30/06/2008, the engagement of the IS will not be more than 8 months flexibly allocated within an overall duration of 18 months.

Maximum Budget Available for the Assignment: 100 000 Euro

Funding Source: KIDSF

Eligibility: Consulting companies/consortia/teams of experts must be registered in an eligible country. The eligible countries as at 1st of April 2008 are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, all so-called PHARE countries and the EBRD's Countries of Operations.

Consultant’s Profile: The IS might be a company/consortium/team of experts, which has established adequate capability, experience and skills.

The IS must provide evidence of experience in the following key areas:

• supervision of the implementation of energy efficiency projects;
• training related to the supervision of projects and ;
• monitoring and appraisal of project results.

Experience in Bulgaria shall be considered an advantage.

Status: Interested companies/consortia/teams of experts are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest.

In order to determine the capability and experience of the consulting companies/consortia/teams of experts, seeking to be shortlisted, the information submitted should include the following:

• Company/Team of experts/Consortium profile;
• Details of previous experience or assignments similar to the task of the IS (not more than 5 project references);

The above information should not exceed 15 pages.

One original and five copies of the above documentation, in English, should be submitted to MEE in sealed envelope marked “Expression of Interest – Independent Supervisor, Project: Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings”, not later than 15:00 local Bulgarian time on 13/05/2008 at the following address:

Please note that for Bulgaria 28.04.2008 and the period 01-06.05.2008 are not working days!

Ministry of Economy and Energy
Energy Markets and Restructuring Directorate
Projects Department
8 Triaditsa St.
1040 Sofia
Bulgaria

Contact person: Iveta Filipova
Chief Expert, Projects Department
e-mail: i.filipova@mee.government.bg
telephone: +359 2 9263 257
fax: +359 2 9800 110

Note: Following this Invitation for Expressions of Interest, a shortlist of qualified companies/consortia/teams of experts shall be drawn and proposals invited from the shortlisted companies/consortia/teams of experts.