Republic of Albania. UKT Tirana Water - Project Implementation Support & Supervision Services - Terms of Reference

Transcription

1 Republic of Albania UKT Tirana Water - Project Implementation Support & Supervision Services - Terms of Reference 1. PROJECT BACKGROUND Ujesjelles Kanalizime Tirane ( UKT, the Company and Client ) is a municipal utility company which provides water supply and sewage for the municipalities of Tirana, Vora and Kamza. The Company is majority owned by the Municipality of Tirana with 82.5 per cent. The Municipality of Kamza owns 14.6 per cent and the Municipality of Vora owns the remaining 2.9 per cent. The Company serves around 0.7 million customers. UKT was established in In 2016, the Company operated the water distribution network of 1,800 km covering approximately 200 thousand of end users (households and companies) and wastewater network of 590 km. The Company produced 106 million m 3 of potable water but the annual volume of water billed amounts to 31 million m 3. The existing UKT Tirana service area is supplied from different sources of water sources: natural springs originating in the mountains, a large impound reservoir, groundwater wells and river pumping stations. The Company s water network is in a poor condition and is characterised by a high rate of failures disrepair which causes an unacceptably high level of interruptions in water supply (on average 8 hours per day) and poor water quality. In addition, poor infrastructure results in high physical water losses in the distribution network (non-revenue water accounted for 68 per cent as of 2015). The Client supported by the Municipality of Tirana (the Municipality ) approached the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD, or the Bank ) with a request to finance priority investments that will improve the municipal water services in Tirana. As a result, the Bank has signed a loan of up to EUR 15 million to UKT to finance the following components the Project : Component 1: construction of a new water pipeline that will transfer water from Bovilla Water Treatment Plant to the western part of the City of Tirana by gravity. Currently, UKT's customers in the western part of Tirana are served by depleting, pumped groundwater supplies; and, Component 2: extension of the capacity of Bovilla Water Treatment Plant ("WTP") from around 57,000 million m 3 /year to 76,000 million m 3 / year. Currently, the water flows by gravity, from the dam at Bovilla Reservoir an abundant resource - to Bovilla WTP through a transmission pipe which will soon be duplicated. The duplication of the transmission pipe will be financed by the Italian Corporation, and would allow more raw water to be fed to the WTP. The duplication of the transmission line is an associated component of the Project as Components 1 & 2 will rely on the additional capacity provided by it. The Project aims to assist the Company in: i) providing a more resilient water system, reaching its objective of providing a 24 hour water supply by 2021, ii) reducing the Company's operational costs by supplying water by gravity versus the high cost of 1

2 pumping groundwater, and iii) increasing sustainability by removing/reducing the Company s reliance on depleting and polluted wells to supply Berxull. The works contracts to be financed from the proceeds of the Bank s loan in accordance with Albanian National Procurement Law. 2. PROJECT ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT The Project will be managed on a day-to-day basis by a Project Implementation Unit ( PIU ) which has been established by the Client. The PIU will have day-to-day responsibility for the assets to be financed via the Project and will co-ordinate all activities under the Project and coordinate between the contractors, and the EBRD. The Client has created a Project Implementation Unit to perform the duties of the Client. Its role is to: 3. OBJECTIVES - Act as the prime point of contact for all parties interested and/or involved in the Project; - Execute tasks related to project implementation; - Obtain all necessary permits and permissions, required from the Client; - Assist the Contractors to liaise with utility and other local organisations; - Prepare appropriate Project-related information for public presentation. The overall objective of the assignment is to facilitate the timely and effective implementation of the Project by rendering assistance to the Client of EBRD s environmental and social ( E&S ) and financial reporting requirements. With the involvement of the Consultant the Client will have access to the best practice in the implementation of the Project, as well as advice on specific technical issues including E&S requirements. 4. SCOPE OF WORK The Consultant shall perform the following main tasks: 1. Overall project management support as required; 2. Assistance in all environmental and social (E&S) aspects. 3. Assistance in all financial reporting aspects 4. Arrangement of timely disbursements under the contracts. The work of the Consultant refers to the whole Project and not only to the portion financed by EBRD, if this is the case. 4.1 Support in ensuring compliance with the Finance Documents and other agreements Conditions Precedent The Consultant will support the PIU to discharge the Conditions Precedent/effectiveness to the availability of funds.

3 Covenants, Reps & Warranties The Consultant will monitor and support the PIU and Client to meet all continuing, time dependant or repeating warranties and representations. The Consultant shall keep records to demonstrate the status of these. Preparing disbursement requests The Consultant will train the PIU to prepare all disbursement requests and obtain the necessary authorised signatures and to submit these in good time in accordance with the Finance Documents Project Accounts and Audits The Consultant shall support the client to arrange for the preparation of Project Accounts at the time and in the form required in the Finance Documents, and arrange for audit and action any matters arising from audit in accordance with the Finance Documents. The Consultant shall include a monthly statement of the PIU s expenditures and projection against its budget for the next six months in each progress report. Reporting in accordance with the Finance Documents The Consultant shall train the client to meet all reporting requirements stipulated under the Finance Agreements and other Project Agreements. This will include regular reporting on any time-dependent covenants, implementation of any time or progress dependant elements such as insurance policies, general progress reporting (programme, progress and financial status). 4.2 Support in ensuring compliance with EBRD s Environmental and Social Requirements The Consultant will support the Client in the following: Implementation of the EBRD s Environmental and Social Policy 2014 Performance Requirements (PRs 1-8 and 10); Environmental and Social Action Plan ( ESAP ) and providing the Bank with financial and environmental and social reports as required under the project agreement; Development of a Resettlement and Livelihood Restoration Plan ( RLRP ). 5. DELIVERABLES Reporting will include at least the following: Report Date No. of Copies English No. of Copies Local language Inception Mobilisation + 4 weeks 1 1 Quarterly Progress Within 10 working days of end of a reporting period 1 1 For practical reasons it is proposed to allow a delay of ten working days in submission of the reports in local language due to the translation efforts.

4 All project reports issued by the Consultant shall be reviewed and approved by the PIU. A period of two weeks shall be allowed for the review and approval. Inception Report: Not later than in four weeks upon commencement of rendering the services the Consultant will prepare and submit the Inception Report. This report will include the information about the status of the Project preparation and implementation, the Consultant s assessment of effectiveness of the Loan Agreement, revised overall procurement plan and contracting strategy, as well as an assessment of resources that will be required for the implementation of the ESAP. The Consultant will be required to give formal representations, to be included in Quarterly Progress Reports. The format of quarterly reports shall be agreed by the Client and the EBRD and shall include, but not be limited to, the following: chart and description of work and goods of each stage; cash flow forecast; comparisons of actual and planned progress including percentage completion achieved for each activity; details of any aspects which may jeopardize the completion in accordance with the Contracts, and the measures being (or to be) adopted to overcome such aspects; copies of the assurance documents, test results and certificates of materials; safety statistics, including details of any hazardous incidents and activities relating to environmental and social aspects and public relations; review and update of investment grant log frame: progress with regard to output and where possible outcome; update on implementation status of ESAP (progress of implementation indicated clearly for each mitigation measure in a separate column of the ESAP table), SEP and environmental and social monitoring plan indicating any predicted delays, and preventative measures proposed to address such delays;; any major changes in the project design and/or capacity that represent a material change to the originally approved EBRD project. Any such cases must be brought to the attention of the Operation Leader and the Bank s E&S specialist; other information as relevant. 6. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS 6.1 Implementation Arrangements The assignment is expected to start January 2019 and have duration of 24 months. 6.2 Facilities

5 FACILITIES TO BE PROVIDED BY THE CLIENT The Consultant will supply all necessary computer hardware and software required to deliver the services, together with the necessary office equipment, which will be handed over to the Client at the end of the assignment. The Consultant will provide residential accommodation for their specialists, and local and international transportation. The Consultant will also be responsible for all salaries, fees, allowances, insurance, leave pay and taxes for the staff involved in the assignment. It is expected that the Consultant will be provided with furnished, serviced and maintained office accommodation, for which the Client has the right to recover its costs. The main project office of the Consultants shall be located in Tirana. All available project information, reports and documents will be made available for the Consultant by the Client. All documentation related to the works is and will remain the property of the Client after completion of the assignment. The Consultant shall not publish, use or dispose of this documentation without written consent of the Client. 7. PROFILE OF THE CONSULTANT The Consultant shall employ suitably qualified professionals, who will be competent to carry out their duties in accordance with responsibilities and/or authorities that are specified in these TOR. Consultant will demonstrate equal opportunities in the mobilization and management of human resources. The Consultant shall retain personnel, with the required minimum qualifications, for the tasks described below, covering the following tasks: - Project management - Financial Specialist - Environmental Specialist - Health and Safety Specialist The indicative inputs and required qualifications for the project teams are presented in the sections below. All key personnel shall be fluent in English, and knowledge of the local language will be considered an asset, and be fully computer literate, regarding e-procurement, word processing, spreadsheet, etc. For the Project Management Team the staffing shall comprise the following key personnel, but not necessarily be limited to: Position Qualification Requirements Indicative Input

6 Project Manager (Local or international) - Minimum B.Sc. degree in civil engineering or similar - Minimum 10 years experience in water and/or waste water facilities design and construction supervision - Minimum 8 years as project manager or team leader for similar projects - Specific experience in Multilateral Development Bank s financed projects - Experience in implementation of at least two similar assignments Financial Specialist - Minimum B.Sc. degree in finance, accounting and/or similar - Certified Public Accountant or Certified Financial Advisor - Minimum 5 years experience in environmental studies and EIA impact assessment - Specific experience in Multilateral Development Bank s financial reporting (Staff days) Environmental Specialist Health and Safety Specialist - Minimum B.Sc. degree in biology, environment or similar - Minimum 5 years experience in environmental studies and EIA impact assessment - Specific experience in environmental requirements according to Local law - Minimum B.Sc. degree in relevant sector - Minimum 5 years experience in similar projects - Specific experience in safety of construction for infrastructural projects. - have a good knowledge and understanding of EBRD s environmental and social requirements and past experience of assistance in their successful implementation The experts shall spend at least 80% of time at project site. 8. DONOR VISIBILITY Given the assignment is funded through the EBRD s donor funded technical cooperation programme, the Consultant will be required to support the client to ensure visibility of these

7 resources. Support on these visibility aspects can be obtained from the Bank s Communications Department. Measures could include but not be limited to: - All documents produced by the Consultant should mention donor support and bear the logo of the donor, when appropriate. - Donor support to the project should be acknowledged in any public communication (press releases, launch of facilities) - Local representatives of donors should be invited to any public event organised to promote the project (press conferences, inaugurations, possibly stakeholder participation programmes)