Executing Agency:
EBRD
The EBRD Contact Person:
Julie Michel
Advisor
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
Tel: + 44 20 7338 7556
E-mail: michelj@ebrd.com (submissions should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address)
Project Description:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”, the “Bank”) is considering extending a loan to the Société Nador West Med (“SNWM”, the “Client”) for the construction of a new port in the vicinity of the town of Nador (the “Project”). The Bank’s loan will be used to finance basic infrastructure (breakwater, quays, dredging etc.) for a new port 30km from the town of Nador on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast. The port will include two container transhipment terminals, a hydrocarbon storage and transhipment terminal, a bulk terminal handling grain, minerals and coal, and will have the potential to handle other cargo types. The port project is a part of a wider development approach, which aims to have a significant regional development impact in the Orientale region of Morocco by attracting foreign investment.’
Assignment Description:
The EBRD intends to engage a consultant (the “Consultant”) to act as the Lender's Independent Environment, Social and Technical Monitoring Consultant for the Project (the “Assignment”). The Consultant’s main objective will be to monitor the Project’s progress from the financial close to construction completion. This process is expected to take five years with the Consultant providing semi-annual reports following site visits.
The expected outcome is to monitor whether the client meets covenants specified in the EBRD loan.
The selected Consultant is expected to provide the following services:
· Monitor the progress of the construction during each site visit, with this checked with respect to the following reviews or validations:
· Site preparation, construction and installation activities,
· Permits, licenses and authorizations for construction and operation,
· Execution of the work in line with the approved documentation, plans, specifications, including the Bank’s Performance Requirements and ESAP, cost breakdown and time schedules,
· Quality of design and work, team organization, progress and cost control systems in place,
· Achievement of payment milestones in accordance with payment requests of contractors,
· Estimation of delays for completion due to delayed construction progress, and
· Reasonableness of “Variation Orders”, if any instructed under the contract: appropriateness, rationale, financial value, likely impact on Project implementation, i.e. schedule and budget
Status of Selection Process: Interested firms or group of firms are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest.
Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to commence in Q1 2016 and has an estimated overall duration of sixty (60) months.
Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 200,000 (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.
Funding Source: It is anticipated that the contract will be financed by the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund. Please note selection and contracting will be subject to the availability of funding.
Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions.
Consultant Profile:
Corporate services are required. The Consultant will be a firm, or group of firms, with previous project experience related to:
· Environmental, social, health & safety and technical auditing of large marine infrastructure developments, particularly for international financing during the design and construction phase;
· Morocco and/or EBRD’s countries of operation (preferably in the SEMED region); and
· Lender Requirements (e.g. EBRD’s 2014 Environmental and Social Policy or equivalent).
Proposed teams must contain core team members that should preferably have the following skills:
· Accredited auditor status or extensive experience in compliance auditing;
· Relevant environmental expertise, including experience with International Financial Institutions (“IFI”) safeguards;
· International technical experience in marine infrastructure (design, construction, auditing);
· Relevant expertise in addressing the social dimensions of large infrastructure projects, including experience with IFI safeguards;
· Relevant health and safety expertise in relation to large infrastructure projects;
· Ability to communicate effectively in French (the reporting to the EBRD will be delivered in English);
· Proven ability to write and produce concise reports;
· Excellent communications skills;
· Proven project management skills; scheduling; prioritization of time and resources; team organisational skills; and
· Regional experience preferable.
The team should include the following Key Experts:
· Project Director;
· Technical specialist;
· Environmental, Health & Safety Specialist/s; and
· Social/Community Specialist/s.
· Local environmental and social specialists
Submission Requirements:
In order to determine the capability and experience of Consultants seeking to be to be selected, the information submitted should include the following:
1. Company/group of firms’ profile, organisation and staffing (max/. 2-4 pages)
2. Details of previous project experience or similar assignments particularly undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contract value, contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided (if different from duration), main activities, objectives.
3. CVs of Key Experts who could carry out the Assignment detailing qualifications, experience in similar assignments, particularly assignments undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided, assignment budget, main activities, objectives.
4. Completed Consultant Declaration and Contact Sheet, the template for which is available from the following web-link:
http://www.ebrd.com/pages/workingwithus/procurement/notices/csu/contact_sheet.doc
The Expression of Interest shall not exceed 20 pages (excluding CVs and Consultant Declaration and Contact Sheet).
The complete Expression of Interest (including CVs, Consultant Declaration and Contact Sheet) should be submitted, in English electronically through e-Selection, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date. The expression of interest shall be one file (pdf). The EBRD reserves the right to reject applications of firms submitting more than one file. Only if the permissible file size is exceeded (4MB), the Consultant may split the expression of interest into further files.
Important Notes:
1. The selection will normally be made from responses to this notification only. Consultants will not be asked to submit a proposal. The highest-ranked Consultant will be selected from a shortlist and be invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
2. The shortlist criteria are as follows:
1. Firm’s previous experience in environmental, social, health & safety and technical auditing of large marine infrastructure developments, particularly for international financing during the design and construction phase and in Lender Requirements (e.g. EBRD’s 2014 Environmental and Social Policy or equivalent) – 25%
2. Firm’s experience in delivering assignments in Morocco and/or EBRD’s countries of operation (preferably in the SEMED region) - 25%
3. CVs of Key Experts – 25%
4. Ability of the proposed team of Experts to communicate in French – 25%
