Project Description: Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) has with financial support from the Neighbourhood Investment Platform of the European Union (NIP) initiated a number of energy efficiency projects in Ukrainian municipalities together labelled “Ukraine Energy Efficiency in Small & United Municipalities” (the Programme).
The Programme is aimed at assisting municipalities of Ukraine and united territorial communities (the UTCs) to reduce energy costs by investing in energy efficient public buildings, such as local schools, day-care centres, hospitals, clinics, street lighting and other municipal properties.
The Programme is split into two different components (project categories) with different financing structure:
Component I. Small grant financed projects for UTCs;
Component II. Projects financed by NEFCO loan blended with Investment Grant from NIP and own financing from Municipalities.
NEFCO is now seeking to procure consultancy services for project implementation support to the Component I of the Programme.
The Programme partners (municipalities) have been identified and an investment pipeline (Business Plans) established for 7 projects under Component I.
The typical investment measures are:
- Thermal insulation of building envelope in municipality-owned social buildings;
- Modernisation of air ventilation and heating systems in social public buildings;
- Replacement of indoor lighting in social public buildings with energy efficient lamps;
- Replacement/rehabilitation of outdoor (street) lighting to achieve energy savings without the loss of lighting quality.
The typical project size is in the range of EUR 300,000 – 600,000
Assignment Description: the NEFCO wishes to procure qualified Consultants to support the Project Implementation (PIU support) for Programme’s Component I. The selected consultant will assist the Project Implementation Units of the municipalities to implement the identified projects.
The Consultants will be required to provide the following services:
- Supporting the municipalities with preparation and implementation of procurement of goods, works and services, as required for project execution;
- Supporting the municipalities with project implementation, including contract administration and disbursement planning/requesting;
- Supporting the municipalities with local procedures, such as approval of financing, registration of grants etc;
- Reporting to NEFCO on project implementation progress, risks and risk mitigation.
The scope of work of the Consultant will include, but will not limited to, the below main tasks:
- Support in establishing a PIU, if not already established and capacity building of the PIU;
- Preparation of energy management plans, in those participating municipalities where not already developed;
- Support in design and preparation of technical specifications / tender documents;
- Procurement support;
- Support in contract administration and works supervision;
- Arrangement of timely disbursements under the contracts;
- In the case of changes to the pipeline, such as updated scope of investment or withdrawal and replacement of participating municipalities the work may also include support in project preparation.
Assignment Start Date and Duration: it is expected that Assignment shall start immediately upon completion of the selection process approximately 1 October 2020 and last for a duration of up to 48 months.
Overall Budget: is expected to be approximately EUR 300,000 (exclusive of VAT) including 10% contingencies.
Consultant Profile: the Consultant should be a qualified consulting firm, or consortium of firms, with proven experience in project preparations, management, design, procurement, and supervision of municipal IFI financed projects in Ukraine. In addition, at least 5 years of a specific experience in implementation of energy efficiency projects in municipal infrastructure of Ukraine is required.
The team of the Consultant should consist at least of the following key experts:
Team Leader
- At least 7 years of experience in managing energy efficiency projects; Strong knowledge of project cycle management, in particular for development projects financed by Multilateral Development Banks and other IFIs. Proven experience in implementation of energy efficiency projects in municipal infrastructure of Ukraine is required.
Procurement Expert
- At least 5 years of experience in procurement preparation and execution in projects financed by Multilateral Development Banks and other IFIs; Knowledge and understanding of procurement and contract practices in municipal infrastructure projects.
Local Financial Specialist
- At least 5 years of experience in financial management/accounting/economic analysis;
- Knowledge and understanding of financing rules and procedures of International Financial Institutions, as well as municipal financial reporting procedures applicable in Ukraine.
Specialists in Energy Efficiency on public buildings (one key expert) and street lighting (one key expert)
- At least 5 years of experience in implementation of municipal infrastructure projects of similar nature and scope in the field of energy efficiency of buildings;
- Knowledge and understanding of internationally accepted procurement rules and procedures;
- Experience working in projects funded by international financial institutions.
In addition, the Consultant is expected to nominate other non-key experts for the Assignment, including but not limited to:
- Local Civil and Electrical Engineers with strong knowledge and experience in Ukrainian construction practices, norms and requirements;
- Technical Supervision/Norm Compliance Expert;
- Local coordinator responsible for (1) financial, administration and organisational matters related to the assignment, (2) reporting, (3) communication with municipalities, NEFCO and other stakeholders.
All reporting and communications with NEFCO shall be in English language and excellent writing and communication skills in English and Ukrainian are required. While it expected that the proposed team shall collectively comply with the language requirements, all key-experts shall be able to communicate in one common language and at least one of the key-experts should be fluent in English.
The final qualification criteria will be part of the Terms of Reference for the Assignments and may include adjustments and changes compared to the above.
Submission Requirements: interested consultants are invited to submit an expression of interest. 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, including the presentation of the proposed expert team for the assignment.
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 (months and years), expert months provided (if different from duration), main activities, objectives.
3. CVs of key experts who could carry out the Assignment detailing education, language skills, qualifications, experience in similar assignments, particularly assignments undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (months and years, from – to), expert months provided, assignment budget, main activities, accomplishments.
The above information should not exceed 15 pages excluding CVs and any supplementary information.
The complete expression of interest (including CVs) should be submitted in English electronically through email ([email protected] with copies to [email protected] and [email protected]), to reach the NEFCO not later than the closing date. The expression of interest shall be one file (pdf) not exceeding 5MB in size. NEFCO reserves the right to reject applications of firms submitting more than one file