Project Description:
"Tamiz Shahar" JSC (the "Company", the "Client" or "Tamiz Shahar"), a joint stock company 100% owned by the state, manages waste disposal in Baku (the "City"). The Company plans to undertake construction of two transfer stations including sorting facilities north of Baku and south west of Baku. This will allow the Company to optimise solid waste transportation, reducing costs and improving the quality of municipal services.
The Integrated Solid Waste Management ("ISWM") project report prepared in 2012 (the "2012 Report") with the support from the Azerbaijan Government (the "Government") represented by the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan and the World Bank confirmed the feasibility of the proposed transfer stations.
Out of 1.8 million tons of solid waste generated in Baku annually, only around fifty per cent is officially collected and disposed with the remainder disposed of at illegal dump sites. A number of small companies, with the majority being publicly owned, perform collection and transportation of solid waste in the City. Tariffs for collection/transportation and disposal are regulated by the state. At the moment, the tariffs are set well below the cost recovery level, which results in significant governmental subsidies to the sector.
The Company was created in 2009 to manage the municipal solid waste sector and implement large scale priority projects. The Company's operating activities comprise management of the Balakhani solid waste landfill (120 hectare) that serves Baku and its suburbs covering a total area of 2,130 sq. meters. The Company is also running Balakhani Material Recovery Facility with an annual capacity of 200 thousand tonnes and Waste to Energy Plant with the annual capacity of 500.000 ton of MSW.
In light of the above, Tamiz Shahar and the Ministry of Economy have approached the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the "Bank" or "EBRD") with a request to assess the possibility of financing construction of two transfer stations and sorting facilities (the "Project").
Assignment Description:
The Bank wishes to engage a suitably qualified consultant (the "Consultant") to prepare a comprehensive feasibility study ("FS") to confirm the priority investment programme (the "PIP") and evaluate its benefits, including assessing its environmental and social feasibility.
The Consultant will review the detailed requirements, verify whether a bankable project meeting the objectives below has been proposed, and prepare any required information regarding the project in order to achieve these objectives. This Project will be based on an effective least-cost investment programme. The proposed investment plan will be justified on the basis of thorough technical, legislative, financial and economic analysis and review. Furthermore, the Consultant will develop an efficient PIP, including procurement schedule, and carry out an assessment of the resource efficiency opportunities (including energy efficiency and renewable energy potential and the impact on GHG emissions) and environmental and social impacts of the investment programme. The Consultant shall take into account the findings of the existing ISWM project prepared in 2012, including justification of construction of the transfer stations. While the ISWM covered a broader scope, the PIP within this Project is to be developed around construction of the two transfer stations and any auxiliary investments that may be required within the proposed investment budget. The Consultant will closely co-operate with the Company while developing the PIP.
Specific objectives of the assignment shall include, inter alia:
a) Review the needs of the Client and the Government, including definition and establishment of the area to be covered by the investment.
b) Review the applicable legislation at local and national level in place regarding waste (e.g. targets on material and energy production from waste), and assess the implications on the Project.
c) Review and analyse the current system of solid waste separation, collection and reprocessing for recycling and, if appropriate, make recommendations on how this could be improved, taking into consideration international best practices in waste management (e.g. European Commission’s Best Available Techniques ("BAT") reference documents ("BREFs")) and following the EU waste hierarchy options at the maximum extent. Identify potential industrial users of separated materials and barriers existing to the development of a market for such products.
d) Review and analyse the current situation of the waste treatment/separation/ recycling/landfilling in the area in terms of condition of major equipment and facilities, recent past years performances, operation and maintenance ("O&M") practices, capacity of the City to manage and address all relevant environmental and social risks and impacts, compliance with national laws and regulations and any liability issues.
e) Carry out a detailed analysis to select the best transfer and processing solution and confirm or (if necessary) select site location for the facilities, including existing and new locations, taking into consideration international best practices in waste management. The Consultant will produce a multi-criteria analysis justifying the selected option and summarise it in tabular form.
f) Carry out an Environmental and Social Assessment (E&S Due Diligence, "ESDD") of the proposed Project to identify its environmental and social risks, impacts and benefits and to structure the Project to comply with the EBRD Environmental and Social Policy ("ESP") and Performance Requirements ("PRs").
g) Estimate potential reductions in greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions arising from a streamlined transportation following construction of the new transfer stations.
h) Based on the results of the above, draw up a detailed PIP, including construction of the two transfer stations and – if relevant and within the available budget – recycling facilities.
i) Make necessary recommendations for institutional changes (organisation of solid waste management, changes in law or institutional, including human resources, changes) regarding solid waste management in the City.
j) Prepare a strategic and operational plan to enable improvements in the collection (and if appropriate, recycling) service, including route optimisation.
k) Conduct a financial analysis of the PIP on transfer stations to be constructed. Create a business plan over the lifetime of the loan with detailed calculations of realistic capital expenditure ("CAPEX"), revenues, expenses, debt service coverage ratio and Internal Rates of Return ("IRR") (both economic and financial).
l) To prepare financial projections for the Company including annual balance sheets, income and cash flow statements.
m) Design a general timetable of the implementation of the Project for each potential scenario.
n) Review the potential for private sector participation ("PSP") in waste collection and disposal (and if appropriate, recycling) (e.g. design-build-operate for any part of the Project, privatisation of collection in parts of the City, operation of the landfill, etc.).
o) Support discussions on the Project proposal between the EBRD and the relevant stakeholders as necessary.
p) Calculation of the Bank's standard measuring indicators and SRI impact indicators.
Status of Selection Process: Interested firms or groups of firms are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest.
Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in Q2 2016 and has an estimated overall duration of 20 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.
Funding Source: It is expected that the Assignment will be funded by the EBRD Early Transition Countries Fund.
Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions.
Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required. The Consultant will be a firm or a group of firms with experience and knowledge of the solid waste sector, specifically institutional and legal framework aspects, environmental and social requirements; local financial management standards, professional standards of technical knowledge internationally as well as in the region. The Consultant should also have experience in developing feasibility studies for IFIs and a good knowledge of IFI procedures and rules on public procurement and disbursement policies.
It is expected that the assignment will be led by an appropriately qualified Team Leader/Solid Waste Engineer, accompanied by both key and supporting experts. Based on the fields of expertise and the tasks mentioned above, it is proposed that the team of the Consultant should consist at least of the following international and local experts:
· Project Manager/Team Leader with a university degree or equivalent qualification with preferably 15 years professional experience in the field of solid waste management, with comprehensive experience of similar assignments in solid waste projects in the former Soviet Union states with the IFIs, as well as in institutional and commercial management of solid waste companies. He/she should demonstrate management and administration experience, including experience with procedures of international financing agencies (preferably EBRD procedures). The large number of different tasks and the complexity of administrational procedures require a permanent presence of the Project Manager in the country during the project period of intensive work on preparation of the FS.
· Financial Specialist with a university degree or equivalent qualification with knowledge of public financing and modelling.
· Technical Specialist and solid waste engineer with a university degree or equivalent qualification with preferably 10 years professional experience in the relevant field.
· Environmental and Social Expert with a university degree or equivalent qualification with professional experience in ESIAs and E&S due diligence, health & safety, stakeholder engagement, public consultation and disclosure in the local context, gender and inclusion expertise, and/or resettlement expertise, in solid waste management sector with experience of similar assignments and with recent track record in the region.
· Resource Efficiency Expert with a university degree or equivalent qualification and with relevant experience in waste management.
· Institutional Expert with a university degree or equivalent qualification with professional experience in similar assignments.
· Legal Expert with a university degree or equivalent qualification with relevant professional experience in the areas of natural monopolies regulation and knowledge of Azerbaijan's tariff legislation.
The Consultant should integrate local professional skills/cooperate with local consulting companies, in order to provide national expertise and experience. The Consultant should also engage Azeri speaking staff on their team or arrange for translation/interpreting when necessary.
Submission Requirements: In order to determine the capability and experience of Consultants seeking to be selected for this Assignment, 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 above information should not exceed 20 pages excluding CVs and the Consultant Declaration Form 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.
Bank Contact Person:
Elena Kolodiy
Technical Co-operation
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Tel: + 44 20 7338 6765
e-mail: kolodiyo@ebrd.com (submissions should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address)
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.
2. The evaluation criteria are:
(a) Consultant's experience in developing feasibility studies for IFIs and a good knowledge of IFI procedures and rules on public procurement and disbursement policies - 15%;
(b) Consultant's experience and knowledge of the solid waste sector, specifically institutional and legal framework aspects, environmental and social requirements; local financial management standards, professional standards of technical knowledge internationally as well as in the region - 35%;
(c) Qualifications and competence of the Consultant's team of experts listed in the Consultant Profile Section above - 50%.
