Executing Agency (Client): Unitary Enterprise Polotskvodokanal
Project Description:
The Unitary Enterprise Polotskvodokanal (the Client) has requested the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD or the Bank) to provide financing for the construction of new wastewater treatment facilities in the city of Polotsk including aeration tanks, sedimentation tanks, sludge pumps, air blowers, etc., to ensure compliance with the national and EU standards and HELCOM recommendations for effluent quality treatment (the Project).
The Project is expected to finance the following investment components:
- Construction of new main wastewater (sewer) collector from pumping station #9 to Polotsk Wastewater Treatment Plant (”WWTP”) (7,055 metres)
- Rehabilitation of pumping station #9; and
- Completion of modernisation of Polotsk WWTP including discharge facilities.
The Project objective is to build a new wastewater treatment plant to achieve full compliance of the wastewater services with the national and EU standards and HELCOM recommendations.
Affordability among the population is a severe constraint and the Bank is working with bilateral and international donors to arrange relatively high grant co-financing amounts to facilitate the implementation of urgent upgrades without imposing hardship on the population.
Assignment Description: The Company is seeking to engage a firm or consortium (the "Consultant") to provide assistance to the Company in the form of a Corporate Development Programme and a Social Support Programme as outlined below.
The assignment consists of two main Parts:
Part I: Corporate Development Programme for the Company
The Consultant shall assist the Company to improve its commercial standing, service and environmental performance by supporting the identification and implementation where necessary establishment of the corporate, financial, operational and environmental management required to become financially and operationally sustainable and also to meet the related covenants included in the EBRD financing documents. The Consultant’s main task is to assist the Company to develop a short-medium term focused corporate development plan and to improve the corporate planning capacity to assist ongoing transition towards becoming a self-sustaining entity with commercially sustainable operations, as well as implementing the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) developed for the Company.
Part II: Social Support Programme
The second objective is to assess the existing social support mechanism for the low income customers and assess how the Company makes use of it in terms of knowledge of its vulnerable customer base and its financial support needs. Following this assessment the Consultant will recommend improvements and actions for improved implementation by the Company. Belarus has a welfare system with subsidies to vulnerable groups, including subsidised utility services, which will bridge the affordability gap. The State and local authorities have not provided direct subsidies to the low income families instead subsidies are provided to the Company to keep the tariff level low. In addition, cross-subsidisation between commercial and residential clients exist. Detailed mechanism needs to be developed and agreed between the local authorities and the Company and reflected in the Public Service Agreement to be signed by the Company.
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 start in Q1 2016 and has an estimated overall duration of 36 months.
Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 350,000 (exclusive of VAT).
The Consultant must determine whether any indirect taxes/VAT are chargeable on the proposed services and state the basis for such. If any indirect taxes/VAT are payable, the Client will have to pay indirect taxes/VAT element to the services directly to the Consultant unless otherwise agreed.
Funding Source: It is anticipated that the contract will be financed through the Czech Republic ODA TC Fund. Selection and contracting is subject to the availability of funding.
Eligibility: Consultancy firms shall be registered in the Czech Republic and all experts proposed must be either Czech nationals or permanent residents of the Czech Republic. However, up to a maximum of 35% of the maximum contract amount may be used to finance services of other nationalities including experts who are nationals of the country in which the assignment is being conducted and firms which are registered in these countries. Selection and the final contracting of consultants will be subject to the availability of funding from the Donor.
Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required. The Consultant should ensure that the appropriately qualified experts are available, as required, for each of the different tasks outlined above. It is expected that the assignment will be led by an appropriately qualified project manager with experience in the water and wastewater sectors and in implementing the key areas of this assignment, accompanied by both key and supporting experts. It is expected that short time input by key international experts be combined with local/regional expert input. The local/regional experts would secure presence in the field and continuity. The team should include the following Key experts:
- Project Manager/Technical expert;
- Local project Manager/Technical expert;
- Finance expert;
- Local finance expert;
- Environmental expert;
- Social expert;
- Pool of local experts
Submission Requirements: In order to determine the capability and experience of Consultants seeking to be shortlisted, 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 Form 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 Consultant Declaration and Contact Sheet).
The complete expression of interest (including CVs, Consultant Declaration and Contact Sheet) should be submitted, in English and Russian via email (pdf) to the Client’s contact person, to reach the Client not later than the closing date. One additional copy shall reach the Bank’s contact person by the same due date. The expression of interest shall be one file (pdf). The Client reserves the right to reject applications of firms submitting more than one file. Only if any limitation on the permissible file size is exceeded, the Consultant may split the expression of interest into further files.
The Client Contact Person:
Felisov Aleksandr Anatolievich
Director of UP Polotskvodokanal
Kostetskoy Street 25а, Polotsk, Belarus 211410
http://www.polotskvodokanal.by/
Tel: +375 214 43-16-78
E-mail: vdk1928@gmail.com
The EBRD Contact Person:
Larissa Gosling
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
Tel: + 44 20 7338 6338
Fax: +44 20 7338 7451
E-mail: GoslingL@ebrd.com
Important Notes:
1. Following this invitation for expressions of interest, a shortlist of qualified firms will be formally invited to submit proposals. Consultant selection and contracting will be subject to availability of funding.
2. The shortlist criteria are as follows:
(a) Firm’s previous project experience in corporate development and social support programmes in the water and wastewater sector in comparable climatic and geological conditions (35%)
(b) Firm’s previous experience in working with IFIs (15%)
(c) CVs of the Key experts as above (50%).
