Overview
The Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (GOSVG) has received financing from The European Commission towards the cost of the Road Management and Rural Road Improvement Programme – CRIS NUMBER: 2014/37509 to (a) strengthen the national road management and maintenance programme; and (b) improve the climate change resilience of the selected rural roads. The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Implementing Agency, intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under a contract for which this invitation is issued. Payments shall not be made to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import, to the knowledge of CDB, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. CDB now wishes to procure consultancy services for Strengthening Road Sector Management.
The objectives of these consulting services are to:
- develop and operationalise a Road Asset Management System (RAMS) for the road network in St. Vincent and the Grenadines;
- develop recommendations for financing mechanisms to ensure the sustainability of RAMS and draft any related legislation required; and
- strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Transport, Works, Urban Development and Local Government (MTW) and the Roads, Buildings, and General Services Authority (BRAGSA) to undertake hazard vulnerability and risk assessments of critical infrastructure.
The services will also include, among other things, (a) review of the legal and regulatory framework for the management of roads; (b) the investigation, procurement, and installation of appropriate RAMS equipment and software for MTW and BRAGSA; (c) the conduct of surveys of road inventory and condition; and (d) the conduct of training and capacity building within MTW and BRAGSA in respect of the assessment of vulnerabilities and risks to critical infrastructure and services.
The consultants will be required to demonstrate qualifications and experience in areas including, among others, road asset management; road finance; hazard vulnerability and risk assessment; and Geographic Information Systems/data management and legal drafting. Excellent communication skills will be required, including fluency of all team members in English. The duration of the assignment is estimated to be for a period of approximately 12 months. Additional information about the context of the project may be found in the Action Document for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines identification Road Management & Rural Road Improvement Programme at https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/system/files/aap-financing-stvincent-annex-2017-20171211_en.pdf.
CDB now invites interested eligible consulting firms to submit Expressions of Interest for the provision of these consultancy services.
Eligiblity
Consultants shall be eligible to participate if:
- in the case of a body corporate, it is legally incorporated or otherwise organised in an eligible country, has its principal place of business in an eligible country and is more than 50 per cent beneficially owned by citizen(s) and/or bona fide resident(s) of eligible country(ies) or by a body(ies) corporate meeting these requirements;
- in the case of unincorporated firms, the persons are citizens or bona fide residents of an eligible country; and
- in all cases, the consultant has no arrangement and undertakes not to make any arrangements, whereby any substantial part of the net profits or other tangible benefits of the contract will accrue or be paid to a person not a citizen or bona fide resident of an eligible country.
- Consultants from member countries of CDB, as well as Member Countries of the European Union (EU), which are not CDB Member Countries, and other countries which are eligible under EU procurement provisions[1], will be eligible to participate in these procurement opportunities.
- The firm fulfils the following additional criteria:
- is not bankrupt or insolvent or in the process of either, or having their affairs administered by the Courts, has not entered into an arrangement with creditors, is in any analogous situation arising from similar procedures provided for in their national legislation or regulations;
- has not been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;
- has not been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the EU’s financial interest;
- is not subject to prevailing suspension or sanctions by CDB for integrity violations;
- is not guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required as a condition of the participation in the procedure or if they fail to supply this information; and
- does not expose a conflict of interest.
- The firm fulfils the following additional criteria:
In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to technical competence, qualifications and experience, local and regional experience on similar assignments, financial capability and existing commitments. All information must be submitted in English. Enquiries may be directed to the first address below between 08:30 and 16:30 hours (Eastern Caribbean Time) Monday to Friday.
[1] See Part II of Appendix A2a of Practical Guide to contract procedures for EU external actions (PRAG).
Instructions
Electronic copies of the Expressions of Interest must be received by email at the second address below no later than 16:00 hours on Friday, July 3, 2020. Each submission must be a single PDF file, with a maximum file size of 30MB. The body of the email submission should include the name and address of the applicant and the subject of the email shall be, “Expression of Interest – Consulting Services for Strengthening Road Sector Management”.
Following the assessment of submissions, a short-list of not less than three and not more than six applicants will be provided with full terms of reference and invited to submit technical and financial proposals to undertake the assignment. CDB reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not short-listing any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.
Contact
Address 1
Portfolio Manager
Caribbean Development Bank
P.O. Box 408, Wildey
St. Michael
BARBADOS, W.I., BB 11000
Address 2
Procurement Officer
Procurement Policy Unit
Caribbean Development Bank
P O Box 408, Wildey
St. Michael
BARBADOS, W. I.