REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation,

Department of Rural Development

National Electrification Project

Assignment Title: Solar PV Inspection and Verification Agent (for ICB-S&I-NEP-IT-1)

Reference No: NEP-IT-CS2

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar has received financing from the Government of the Italian Republic  toward the cost of the National Electrification Project (NEP)-Component-2: Off-grid Electrification, and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services of independent Inspection and Verification Agents.

The Myanmar NEP Off-Grid Programme co-financed by the World Bank, the Government of Italy and Republic of the Union of Myanmar over 5 years shall electrify close to one million households and several thousand facilities and building using solar PV off-grid technologies, targeting the rural and remote regions of the country. The initial procurement in 2016, was one of the first large scale international procurements in Myanmar, and is intended to establish modalities for future NEP roll-out. WB Procurement Guidelines shall be followed for supply and installation of the solar equipment, and the disbursement of payments for the solar installations equipment shall be subject to corresponding supporting verification of the installations and quality of equipment and works, by an Inspection and Verification Agent’s Consulting Firm. The Consulting Firm shall be required to manage the entire inspection, verification and reporting process on a sampling basis.

The Italian Soft Loan administered by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. (CDP) on behalf of Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Italian Republic will provide Euro 30,000,000 allocated mainly for supply and installation of Solar Home System through International Competitive Bidding process. The fund will also provide for Consultant Services related to supply procurement under ICB such as Inspection and Verification Agent (IVA) and Financial Auditing Firm.

The Department of Rural Development invites expression of interest (EOI) from qualified and experienced Local and/or International Consulting Firm (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services as per the short-listing criteria and the EOI should not be more than 30 pages. The short-listing criteria are:

• At least 2 years of experience working in rural areas in Myanmar or similar conditions;
• At least 2 years of experience in installation and/or inspection of solar systems in countries with similar conditions with Myanmar;
• At least 2 permanent professional staff with relevant expertise in energy, renewable energy, electrification, and/or project management;
• At least three contracts in relevant areas, each with a value of at least USD10,000 over the past five years;
• Demonstrated ability to use app-based MIS software or related programs developed for monitoring and evaluation of project activities

The Consultant shall express interest to provide inspection and verification services for Solar System under International Competitive Bidding packages no. ICB S&I-NEP-IT1 as listed below:

The tentative starting period for the assignment is November 2020

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraph 1.9 of the World Bank’s Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants by World Bank Borrowers dated January 2011 (revised July 2014) (“Consultant Guidelines”) setting forth the World Bank on conflict of interest and Annex 2 of the MAECI-AICS – Ethical Clauses and General Principles for Procurement and Execution of Contracts.

Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Selection Based on the Consultants’ Qualification (CQS) method set out in the World Bank Consultant Guidelines.

For information, the maximum available budget for the assignment is Euro 55,000 and according to the Annex 2 of the Italian Fund, a proposal exceeding the available budget will be rejected. However, at this stage, the interested consultants are required to submit only Expression of Interest (technical information as required above only). No financial proposal is accepted at this stage.

International consulting firms are encouraged to associate with local firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy to enhance their qualifications.

Further information and initial Terms of Reference can be obtained at the address below during office hours: 09.30 to 16.00 hours or direct request through e-mail address below. DRD will provide prompt and consistent responses to all interested parties, should there be any questions. Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by mail, or by fax, or by e-mail) by November 9, 2020.

Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation

Attention: Dr. Soe Soe Ohn, Project Manager, National Electrification Project (NEP)

Office No. 36, Pandita Road, Oattara Thiri Township, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

Tel/FAX: +95 673 418635, 418636, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected].,[email protected]