Country:Bulgaria

Business sector:Municipal and environmental infrastructure

Project number:70275

Funding source:Not Yet Determined

Contract type:Consultancy Services

Notice type:Invitation for expressions of interest (CSU)

Issue date:04 Sep 2017

Closing date:25 Sep 2017   at  17:00   London

Bulgaria: Update of the Ex-Ante Assessment and Investment Strategy for Financial Instruments under Operational Programme Environment 2014-2020, Priority Axis 1,2 and 5 in accordance with the Common Provision Regulation No 1303/2013

Project Description

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ('EBRD', the 'Bank') has agreed to support the Bulgarian Managing Authority ('MA') of the Operational Programme Environment 2014-2020 ('OPE 2014-2020') to prepare an update of the Ex-Ante Assessment and the Investment Strategy for Financial Instruments under Operational Programme Environment 2014-2020. The initial Ex-Ante Assessment, (the 'Initial Ex-Ante Assessment') was prepared in September 2014, and the Updated Ex-Ante Assessment will similarly be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Regulation (EU) No 1303 / 2013 and the Ex-Ante Assessment Methodology for Financial Instruments in the 2014-2020 Programming Period. The Initial Investment Strategy was prepared in late 2015 on the basis of the Initial Ex-Ante Assessment.

Assignment Description

The Bank now intends to engage a consultant, (the 'Consultant'), to assist with the update the Initial Ex-Ante Assessment and Initial Investment Strategy in accordance with the above requirements (the 'Assignment').
The Consultant shall undertake the following tasks:
a. Update the findings and conclusions of the Initial Ex-Ante Assessment with respect to Priority Axis 1 Water of OPE 2014-2020, in accordance with art. 37 of Regulation (EU) No 1303 / 2013;
b. Update the findings and conclusions of the Initial Ex-Ante Assessment with respect to Priority Axis 2 Waste of OPE 2014-2020, in accordance with art. 37 of Regulation (EU) No 1303 / 2013; &
c. Update the findings and conclusions of the Initial Ex-Ante Assessment with respect to Priority Axis 5 Improvement of Ambient Air Quality of OPE 2014-2020, in accordance with art. 37 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.
d. Update the finding and conclusions of the Initial Investment Strategy on the basis of the results of the Updated Ex-Ante Analysis.

Status of Selection Process:

Interested firms or group of firms are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest.

Assignment Start Date and Duration:

The Assignment is expected to start in Q3 2017 with an estimated overall duration of 5 months.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment:

EUR 130,000; exclusive of VAT. The Consultant must determine whether any indirect taxes/VAT are chargeable on the proposed services and state the basis for such. If any indirect taxes/VAT are payable, the Client will have to pay indirect taxes/VAT element to the services directly to the Consultant unless otherwise agreed.

Funding Source:

It is anticipated that the Assignment will be financed via a Memorandum of Understanding ('MoU') between EBRD and the Government of Bulgaria. Selection and contracting will be subject to the availability of funding.

Eligibility:

There are no eligibility restrictions.

Consultant Profile:

The Consultant will be a firm or a group of firms, with experience of delivering similar ex-ante assessments, feasibility studies in diverse sectors in Bulgaria or other EU countries in Eastern Europe. The Consultant's team should include the following experts:

Key Expert 1: Legal expert with knowledge of and experience in EU/national legislation regarding state aid

Key Expert 2: Legal expert(s) with knowledge of and experience in EU/national legislation regarding: (a) environment protection, (b) water and waste water, (c) waste management and (d) air quality.

Key Expert 3: A pool of sector experts (s) in the areas of (a) environment protection, (b) water and waste water, (c) waste management and (d) air quality.

Key Expert 4: A pool of financial experts with experience in designing, structuring and implementing financial instruments funded with ESIF funds (preferably in South-Eastern Europe) and with commercial banking experience and knowledge of the commercial banking regulations in EU/Bulgaria.

Submission Requirements:

In order to determine the capability and experience of Consultants to be shortlisted, 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 complete expression of interest, including the above submission requirements, shall not exceed 20 pages (excluding CVs Consultant Declaration and Contact Sheet) and shall be submitted to the Bank via eSelection as one file (pdf or Word format), not exceeding 4MB by no later than the closing date.

Bank Contact Person

Sevi Simavi
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
Tel: + 44 20 7338 6369
Email: [email protected] (submissions should be sent through eSelection and not to this email address)

Notes:

1. 
   The shortlist criteria are as follows:
   (a) Firm's previous project experience in similar assignments of delivering similar ex-ante assessments, feasibility studies in diverse sectors in Bulgaria or other EU countries in Eastern Europe. (40%);
   (b) CV of key experts (60%).
2. 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, subject to availability of funding.