Uzbekistan - P133703 - Horticulture Development Project - EU/QCBS/01

Country: Uzbekistan

Project Id: P133703

Project Name: Horticulture Development Project

Loan/Credit/TF Info.: TF-A7910

Notice Version No.: 1

General Information

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Detailed Information for Advertisement

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION)

COUNTRY:Republic of Uzbekistan

NAME OF PROJECT: Horticulture Development Project with the participation of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and co-financing of European Union Grant Funds

EU TF Grant No.: TF0A7910

Assignment Title: Technical Assistance on Horticulture Technology in Uzbekistan  

Reference No.: EU/QCBS/01

The Republic of Uzbekistan has received additional financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in the amount of 500.0 million US dollars for the implementation of the Horticulture Development Project.

In order to implement and finance component 1 - Agriculture support services of the Horticulture Development Project, grant funds of the European Union (EU) in the amount of 21.5 million Euros was attracted.      

Republic of Uzbekistan to enhance the profitability of the whole horticulture sector intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this grant as payment of Technical Assistance on Horticulture Technology consultancy services.

The consulting services (“the Services”) include Technical Assistance on Horticulture Technology in Uzbekistan under the Horticulture Development Project. Consulting services performance period is expected for the period from 2020 till 2024.

The consultant would have to manage a set of activities to achieve Project goals. These activities include but should not be limited to:

1. Mapping of local pests, weeds & diseases as well as measures to deal with them; development of detailed video and published manuals on crop protection and distribution of them via all possible channels inclusive but not limited to web-portal, flash-memory sticks, CDs, publications, radio and TV; development of laminated pest and disease identification cards to be distributed to all farmers in the project area;
2. Organization and management of demonstration plots for fruits & vegetables production as well as storage and post-harvest handling (PHH) of these products and seminars on the basis of these demo-plots; preparation and distribution of monitoring reports as well as media reports about these events via all possible channels to increase awareness;
3. Supporting training programs organized by the research institute with local and international experts on crop production, crop protection, storage and PHH of fruits & vegetables and development of training materials for such training programs;
4. Developing Smartphone apps for farmers to use in their day-to-day field work;
5. Determining potential for the use of renewable energy sources in the horticultural sector of Uzbekistan and developing a roadmap for utilization of such potential;
6. Publishing articles with vital information on modern technologies of production, and post-harvest handling on a fresh produce magazine to be published under the project on weekly basis;
7. Developing video manuals on all elements of production, storage, post-harvest handling of fresh fruits & vegetables and distribution of these manuals via various channels inclusive of but not limited to web-portal, memory sticks and TV;
8. Developing, publishing and distribution of manuals on all elements of production, storage, post-harvest handling of fresh fruits & vegetables via various channels inclusive of but not limited to web-portal, memory sticks, CDs, etc;
   

For detailed description of the assignment please visit the link to access Terms of Reference.

The Agro Industry and Food Security Agency now invites eligible consulting firms (“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. The shortlisting criteria are:

1. At least 10 years of overall experience;
2. At least 5 completed contracts on managing similar projects, in fruit & vegetable production technologies, organization of demo-fields and find-day financed by International Financial Institutions;
3. Relevant experience in managing TA projects, in fruit & vegetable production technologies, organization of demo-fields and find-day financed by International Financial Institutions financed by International Financial Institutions;
4. Work experience in Uzbekistan or Central Asia on managing similar projects, in fruit & vegetable production technologies, organization of demo-fields and find-day financed by International Financial Institutions financed by International Financial Institutions;
   

Key Experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraph 3.14 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated July 2016 (revised November 2017 and August 2018), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

Consultants may submit their REOI as an individual firm or in association in the form of a joint venture or sub-consultancy.  All the members of the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire assignment.  However, the experience of sub-consultant will not be considered while short-listing.A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the QCBS (Quality and Cost Based Selection) method set out in the Procurement Regulations.

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours from 09-00 to 18-00 (Tashkent time).

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by e-mail) by June 27, 2019.

Agro Industry and Food Security Agency

Attn: Mr.ShukhratTashev, Project Manager

Labzak Street 1A, 100128, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Tel:(+99871) 2415144, 2413330

Fax: (+99871) 2415144

E-mail: [email protected]

As part of the EOI, the consultant should include following information:

• Consulting Firm Information

• Associations (Joint Venture or Sub-consultancy)

Present the rationale for and benefits of working in association (JV or Sub-consultant) with others rather than undertaking the assignment independently (as appropriate). Describe the proposed management and coordination approach of the association and the role of each firm.

• Technical competence

ProjectReferences - highlight the technical qualifications of your entity/consortium in undertaking similar assignments. Provide details of past experiences working with similar project authorities

• Geographical experience

Project References, present experiences in similar geographic areas.

• Management Competence

• Describe standard policies, procedures, and practices that your entity has to assure quality interaction with clients and outputs. Please state if your company is ISO certified.
• How your firm/consortium handles complaints concerning the performance of experts or quality of the reports submitted for previous and future assignments? What internal controls are in place to address and resolve complaints?
• How you ensure the quality of your firm’s/consortium’s performance over the life of assignments.
  

• Projects references

Present relevant projects to demonstrate the firm’s technical qualifications and geographical experience (maximum 10 projects).

• Summary for the Projects listed above

• Eligibility

We, the undersigned, certify to the best of our knowledge and belief:

• We have read the advertisement, including the terms of reference (TOR), for this assignment (YES/NO)
• Neither the consulting firm nor its JV member or sub-consultant or any of its experts prepared the TOR for this activity (YES/NO)
• We confirm that the project references submitted as part of this EOI accurately reflect the experience of the specified firm/consortium. (YES/NO)
• Ensuing assignment resulting from our work product under this assignment, our firm, JV member or sub-consultant, and the expert(s) will be disqualified from short-listing and participation in the assignment.
• The lead entity and JV member or sub-consultant are NOT currently sanctioned by or other MDBs. Neither the consulting firm nor the JV member or sub-consultant has ever been convicted of an integrity-related offense or crime related to theft, corruption, fraud, collusion or coercion.