Institutional Capacity Building Project: Uzbekistan Hospital Consolidation Project International Legal Consultant

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
(CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION)

Uzbekistan

Institutional Capacity Building Project

Credit No.: IDA 6431-UZ

Assignment Title: Uzbekistan Hospital Consolidation Project International Legal Consultant

Reference No.: PPPDA-HOSPITAL-INTERNATIONALLEGAL-CS-CQS

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Institutional Capacity Building Project and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services on behalf of the PPPD Agency under the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Consulting services (“the Services”) include provision of legal support during  implementation of the multidisciplinary greenfield hospitals emergence Project in collaboration with the Local Legal Consultant. This support relates to all legal aspects of the PPP transaction, including review of the legal due diligence findings, support in the transaction structuring, preparation of tender documents, drafting the PPP agreement and/or other transaction documents, and support in conducting a fair and transparent tender process.

Implementation period up to 12-24 months, ensuring full consistency with the Terms of Reference (TOR) attached in this REOI.

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan 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 submitting directly to the piu_mof@mail.ru.

The qualification requirements for the Consultants are:

• Providing legal advice and structuring PPP transactions in different countries in the past 10 years (preferably experience in Central Asia and healthcare sector);
• Providing legal advice for investment projects in infrastructure and social facilities in the Central Asia in the past 10 years (preferably in healthcare sector).

The International Legal Consultant and the proposed team will have both the skills and experience necessary to undertake the range of tasks set out in these Terms of Reference.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” July 2016 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.  In addition, please refer to the following specific information on conflict of interest related to this assignment: Consultants shall not be hired for any assignment that would be in conflict with their prior or current obligations to other clients, or that may place them in a position of being unable to carry out the assignment in the best interests of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultant Qualification Selection (CQS) method set out in the Procurement Regulations.

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours from 9:00 a.m. to 18:00 p.m. Tashkent time.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form in English, Russian or Uzbek languages to the address below (in person, or by mail, or by e-mail) by July 22nd 2021.

Project Implementation Unit under the
Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Attn: Foziljon Kalandarov, Manager of the Project

Uzbekistan, 100017, Tashkent city, 29, Istiklol St.

Tel: +998907380050

E-mail: piu_mof@mail.ru

As part of the EOI, the consultant should include the 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

Project References - 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 (at least for 5 but no more than 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. 

Draft Terms of Reference for Activity

Uzbekistan Hospital Consolidation Project

International Legal Consultant

I. PROJECT BACKGROUND

Introduction

Healthcare is one of the priority sectors for the Government of Uzbekistan (GoU) in its plans for improving public services. Currently, care provision is predominantly based on a network of small, public mono-profile hospitals that treat separate disease categories and population groups (e.g., neurological and psychiatric hospi