UPDATE: Urban Development Support Project: Consultant (International) Short Course on Housing

Afghanistan - P147147 - URBAN DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT PROJECT - MUDL/UDSP/C-3/IC-28

Country: Afghanistan

Project Id: P147147

Project Name: URBAN DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT PROJECT

Loan/Credit/TF Info.: IDA-D1910

Notice Version No.: 0

General Information

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Consultancy Services:  Hiring of Individual Consultant to conduct Short Course (Training) on Housing for Senior and Mid-level Government Officials of the Urban Sector

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Urban Development Support Project

Ministry of Urban Development and Land

Consulting Services: Individual Consultant “Short Term”

IDA Grant No.: TF0A3425

Project ID No.: P147147

Reference: MUDL/UDSP/C-3/IC-28

Expressions of interest

No. of positions: 1

The Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL) needs the services of qualified consultant to conduct Short Course on Housing for Senior and Mid-Level Government Officials of the Urban Sector. The above task would contribute to urban development efforts in Afghanistan supported by the MUDL and other urban sector players through the Urban Development Support Project (UDSP).The detailed Terms of Reference for the Short Policy Courses should be provided on the request to the emails give below:

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The future of Afghanistan is urban. To attain sustainable urban development, Afghanistan needs professionals in the urban sector who have an understanding of the multiple and interdisciplinary aspects of urban development. Government officials do not have adequate perception of urban development policies. This training is designed to improve the capacity of urban sector senior and mid-level officials including; MUDL, IDLG-DMM comprising of five municipalities, Kabul municipality, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy in key policy areas. The objective are to;

1. Ensure sufficient knowledge and understanding of urban development and its relevant policies among the senior and mid-levels officials of the target entities.
2. Facilitate urban policy implementation and thorough decision-making to improve functions of the cities in services delivery and overseeing orderly and efficient urban development. The ultimate goal of the training is to increase the capacity of the government officials to improve the current state of the Afghan cities. The training will be conducted under the following key policy area in line with the Government priorities:

• Housing Policy

SCOPE OF THE TRAINING

Training covers one policy area of the urban sector that is under preparation by the UDSP in MUDL in line with Afghanistan’s Urban National Priority Program (U-NPP). The training is designed for a week long in-country knowledge gaining exercise. The policy area is;

• Housing

1. Housing (Duration - 1 Week)
   

Majority of the current urban housing in Afghanistan is categorized as ‘slum’ because they lack one or more of the very basic urban services and the overall quality of housing is categorized as poor. 

A combination of urban growth rate of 4%, rural-urban in-migration, and an influx of returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) is expanding the urban areas in Afghanistan and will continue to compound the challenges of providing affordable and decent housing in Afghanistan, especially in 5 big cities; Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar, Jalalabad and Herat.

The Government of Afghanistan has prioritized the provision of affordable and decent housing in its urban agenda. Upgrading the existing housing and providing basic services to them will solve a part of the problem but with the rapid urban and population growth, Afghanistan will need to build more than 41,000 affordable housing units every year. Effectively addressing the growing housing need in Afghanistan will require the formulation and implementation of comprehensive strategy backed by practical policies.

1. Housing Finance: Currently, majority of Afghans finance their own homes outside of financial institutions. Mortgages are not accessible to low-income and even middle class residents in Afghanistan, especially in the informal settlements because mortgages require legal title or ownership documents of the land for lending finances. On the other hand annual income of most of the middle-income Afghans does not qualify them for mortgages. With the increasing need for housing in the coming years, establishment of a comprehensive housing finance system incorporating low and middle-income Afghans is necessary. The needs identified under housing finance are but not limited to the following:
   

• Institutional framework for efficient housing finance
• Mortgage and its modalities
• Islamic housing finance
• Subsidies and its modalities ( Supply side subsidies, demand side subsidies)
• Credits, guarantees and bonds in housing finance
• Housing market assessment
• Housing Trust Funds/ Housing Banks
• Legal Framework for housing finance
  

1. Affordable Housing: As a rule of thumb, Housing is deemed affordable if it costs no more than 30% of gross house hold income. Few outside the highest income group in Afghanistan spend less than this amount, so the affordability gap is really high. If the government is to provide affordable housing in Afghanistan, it must subsidize the housing, decrease the costs and provide frameworks that would support people with home ownership or rental. Affordable housing can be provided through approaches such as home ownership assistance, rental assistance, land-use and regulatory incentives. The needs identified under the topic are but not limited to the following:
   

• Affordable housing policy
• Financing affordable housing
• Subsidies for affordable housing
• Approaches for provision of affordable housing
• Design, space and construction standards and requirements for affordable housing
  

1. Low-income Housing: Low-income Housing is different from affordable housing in terms of its occupiers. The occupiers of low-income housing are the low-income category of residents who are subsidized for rental or ownership of houses. The government of Afghanistan does not provide any kind of low-income housing but a large portion of the population of Afghanistan based on their income would qualify for low-income housing. The needs identified under low-income housing in Afghanistan are but not limited to the following:

• Low-income housing
• Approaches for provision of low-income housing
• Financing low-income housing
• Subsidies for low-income housing
• Design and construction standards for low-income housing
• PPP for low-income housing
  

1. Private Developers’ Involvement in Housing: Private developers can play a key role in the development of housing projects in Afghanistan. At the moment majority of the private developers are playing a key role in developing high end multi-story apartments. But it can be of very high impact if private developers are given more chance by the government to provide affordable and low-income housing. The needs identified under the topic are but not limited to the following:
   

• Private developers’ assessment
• Institutional, financial and technical capacity requirements for private developers in housing sector
• Approaches for private developers’ involvement in housing
• Benchmarking standards and qualifications for Private developers to be involved in housing                                                                                                                              
  

1. Access to Land for Housing: Access to land for housing is one of the major problems in provision of adequate and affordable housing in Afghanistan. More than 70% of housing in Afghanistan is built informally because of the government’s inability to provide formal land to the rapidly growing urban population. The needs identified under access to land are but not limited to the following:
   

• Tenure Security
• Approaches to provision of land for housing
• Land management

1. Real Estate Appraisal / Land Valuation: Land valuation or real estate appraisal is the process of developing an opinion on the value of land or a property. This practice is of significant impact and necessary for achieving sustainable urban development. The needs identified under real-estate appraisal are but not limited to the following:

• Institutional arrangement
• Approaches to accurate and realistic real-estate appraisal or land valuation
  

Deliverables:

1. Training on Housing: Successfully conduct Housing Policy training inside the country to the MUDL/UDSP satisfaction. And, assuring that all topics listed under the housing policy stream are covered with sufficient details.
   

REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLETION OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

• Consultant: Eligible Consultant with rich expertise in Urban Regeneration disciplines are requested to submit their technical and financial proposals for the assignment as per the requirements. Link with a prestigious institutions will be an advantage.
• Duration: The training is intended to be covered in one (1) week in Afghanistan. The consultant is required to visit Afghanistan for the training to deliver the week long training. The practical application of policy areas is an integral part of the training where the officials are to submit their policy memos applied to the trainer in a specified period of time to the trainer. Consultant /Trainer will comment on the paper. The training should be designed in a way that all the policy area is covered in in-class sessions in-country (Kabul-Afghanistan). 
• Accommodation: The client will facilitate logistics for the consultant during week-long sessions.
• Assessment: The week long training will have an assessment at the end of week or whenever the consultant deems reasonable to ensure that participants are learning the policies in theory and in practice.
• Number of Participants: 25-30 participants from different urban sector actor of Afghanistan is to participate in the training.
• Certification: Successful participants should receive a certificate after successful completion. The certificate is to be authorized and recognized.
• Contents of the Course: Contents of the course are subject to the client approval prior to the training.

Experience and Skills:

1. The consultant should have the knowledge, skills and practical experience in the following areas:

1. Housing (Housing Finance, Housing Supply & Demand, Affordable housing, real estate appraisal)
2. Urban Economics, Feasibility Study and Project Design, Social and Economic studies, Environmental studies and impact assessment.

2. Experience of delivering at least two such trainings on Housing in the past is an advantage for the potential interested consultants.

3. More than one individual trainer can team up to cover the topics and deliver the training in Afghanistan.

Submission Guidelines: The consultant will be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in the World Bank’s Section V of Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers (revised July 2014).

Expressions of interest should be sent to the email address below by no later than 15:00 hours (local time) 15 September 2019 Reference MUDL/UDSP/C-3/IC-28 must be quoted on all correspondence and the Expression of interest.

Attention: Mr. Abdul Sami Abdulrahimzai

Project Support Office (UDSP) Ministry of Urban Development and Land,

Opposite to Govt. printing press, 3rd Makrorayan, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Email: dr_abdulsami78@yahoo.com or aminzoy.udsp.mudh@gmail.com  

Cell phone Nos.: +93 (0) 785814620