SOW.docx

Statement of Work Port Planner and/or Engineer With expertise in Port Planning, Engineering, Design, Construction, Management, Financing, Operations and Maintenance, Institutional and Policy Analysis

A. Introduction

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. Government corporation whose mission is to provide assistance that will support economic growth and poverty reduction in carefully selected developing countries that demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, economic freedom, and investments in their citizenry. For more information on the MCC please visit www.mcc.gov.

Compacts typically include the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of major infrastructure elements. Since its inception, MCC has developed and implemented many Compacts in various low and lower-middle income countries that included the planning, design, and construction of transport and vertical structure infrastructure. MCC currently has specific needs for an expert in port planning, engineering construction, management, operations, maintenance and institutional capacity development as well as port related transportation logistics.

B. Scope

MCC seeks an individual consultant to assist MCC in Tunisia to undertake various assignments aimed at providing direct professional services and support in areas of planning, engineering, design, construction, operations, maintenance, program management, finance, policy, regulatory, capacity building, training, for both small large and small ports, container, dry bulk, general cargo, liquid bulk and multi-product terminals including cargo handling equipment and transportation logistics.

C. Country

Tunisia, and other MCC eligible countries

D. Tasks and Deliverables

The Consultant shall carry out the following specific tasks (but not limited to) related to this assignment during both the compact development and implementation stages.

Institutional Capacity Assessment

· Evaluate the local policy framework, regulatory regime, and organizational arrangements for the planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance of buildings and other vertical structures.

· Review best practices for organizational arrangements appropriate to the local context.

· Identify opportunities to increase institutional capacity in the planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance of facilities and other vertical structures.

· Coordinate assessments and other reviews with other MCC staff and consultants focused on gender and social inclusion, environmental and social performance, and monitoring and evaluation through information sharing and collaboration.

Facility Planning

· Conduct physical surveys, needs assessment, trend analysis, demand projections and operations patterns

· Identify applicable or appropriate codes and design standards.

· Develop or review space planning and other design criteria.

· Identify potential life safety hazards to facility occupants/users and potential risk mitigation measures relevant to planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance

· Develop or review order-of-magnitude cost estimates.

· Identify contextually appropriate technologies, construction assemblies, and means and methods of construction.

· Review feasibility studies of candidate sites and/or existing structures.

Design Services Procurement

· Assist in assessing local design industry capacity.

· Develop or review Terms of Reference, Scope of Work, and Terms and Conditions for feasibility, pre-design and design services to be procured by either MCC or MCA(s).

· Estimate levels of effort and fees for design services.

· Assist in preparing Sources Sought and Requests for Proposals for design services.

· Assist in evaluating technical proposals submitted by design firms.

· Assist in evaluating bids and tenders for construction of works.

Additional Deliverables will be outlined via Technical Directives that will be issued by the Contracting Officer’s Representative or the Project Monitor including appropriate levels of effort, filed missions, deliverable requirements and timing of deliverables. Deliverables may include some or all of the following:

· Reports, reviews and analyses as may be required under the scope above according to the needs of the MCC Compact timeline and lifecycle;

· Recommendation regarding project design;

· Briefings on the progress of the consultancy and findings;

· Review and comments on terms of reference for engineers/construction supervision terms of reference;

· Review and comments on construction works packaging, documents, and procurement strategy.

· Provide lessons learned for improving due diligence practices, project development and implementation

E. Place and Period of Performance

Consultant shall perform the tasks under this contract in Tunisia, MCC offices in Washington DC as requested, and at his/her own facilities.

All work shall be completed between the dates of the award through a four year period of performance. The estimated level of effort is estimated at up to 3,200 hours with an estimated 5 trips per year. MCC anticipates this level of effort but does not guarantee this level of effort as it may increase or decrease.

· Base Year: 1,000 hours

· Base Year 2: 800 hours

· Base Year 3: 700 hours

· Base Year 4: 700 hours

MCC anticipates this level of effort but does not guarantee it, as it may decrease depending on actual project requirements.

F. Timing and Reporting

All formal communication with MCC, including reports, will be submitted to the Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COR) and Program Manager (PM). The COR/PM for this requirement will be identified via separate correspondence.

The COR/PM will have technical responsibility for monitoring the contractor’s performance. The COR/PM will review and evaluate the contractor’s performance, and also will coordinate any communications with relevant counterparts and other donor agencies and organizations.

Any changes in the terms of the Call Order will be made in writing and approved by the Contracting Officer. No representation of the COR/PM shall serve as a basis for an alteration in the general scope of this Call Order or of the terms and conditions of the Call Order unless confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer. The contractor must communicate with the Contracting Officer on all matters that pertain to the Contract terms. Proceeding with the work without proper contractual coverage could result in nonpayment for that work.

G. Evaluation Criteria:

The successful candidate must show demonstrated experience with OPRC methodology, contracting, and management.

· Degree in Civil Engineering or related qualification

· Minimum 25 years of experience in the planning and development of ports and related transportation logistics

· Demonstrated experience engineering design, project management, construction management, operations, maintenance, financial, policy and regulatory aspects and institutional capacity building;

· Related experience on MCC, World Bank or other donor-financed projects of a similar nature.

· Written and spoken fluency in French and English H. Other requirements:

International travel is required. The Consultant may be requested to mobilize on a short notice and will be expected to deliver high quality finished products in a timely manner.

The consultant is authorized to subcontract data collection, data preparation, technical analyses (such as structural or maintenance), and related services as needed. The overall costs for subcontracting shall not exceed 25% of the consultant’s total negotiated unloaded direct labor cost.

Annex 1 -- Sea Ports -- Detailed Due Diligence Questions

Chapter 13: Sea Ports

MCC will use the feasibility study of the port project as the basis to examine the following and to make a determination on what supplemental studies, if any, are required to develop the project sufficiently so that appraisal could commence:

· Description of the type of port that is to be built or expanded.

· Rationale for MCC interventions, including nature and measure of benefits and beneficiaries disaggregated by income, gender, age, and ethnicity.

· Confirmation supported by appropriate data, that the proposed project is likely to deliver the stated benefits to identified beneficiary groups, informed by meaningful public consultation which may include income- and gender-based focus groups and a stakeholder analysis including social and women’s government ministries and NGOs.

· Information on market demand which justifies the project financially, economically and operationally. The information should take into account competition from other ports, location of competing ports and their published tariff schedules, estimated cost of operations of existing or contemplated port facility area to be served and a forecast of the future growth of demand.

· Identification of alternatives to accomplish the objective, such as expansion of an existing port or construction of a new port or other transport modes, where applicable, including environmental and social considerations related to each alternative.

· If the project is to be done using MCC funds, demonstration supported by appropriate data that commercial or private financing is not available for the project and the reasons for its unavailability.

· Demonstration supported by appropriate data that privatization – including concession contracts with EPC arrangements – is not possible, and the reasons why.

· Identification of the facilities’ throughput and operating statistics, including current vessel service and cargo handling characteristics in comparison with international norms and definition of performance targets for operations after completion of the project. Data should include current trends and forecasts of future throughput parameters; current and expected vessel service capabilities and efficiencies; cargo discharge/load and take away rates; efficiencies and capabilities of cargo processing systems such as container yards, warehouses, and container freight station (CFS) operations on the terminal and overall port performance capabilities, including total throughput and growth rates; average vessel waiting and service times; average cargo dwell times; and overall cargo processing costs.

· Data on terminal congestion indicators to identify the need for off-terminal service facilities.

· Data on port operations and overall cargo distribution costs to identify the potential economic impact of the project on the local and regional economy.

· Information on whether project components, engineering design, and associated technologies are considered appropriate for the port in relation to its international shipping network.

· A preliminary description of the institutional arrangements at the port including without limitation: (i) the entity responsible for overall oversight of port facilities and its scope of authority; (ii) other government institutions/entities operating in the port; (iii) other private sector or other entities/organizations operating in the port, including role and capacity; (iv) arrangements/institutions in place to manage and maintain port facilities, including, without limitation, intermodal network to and from the port; (v) funding arrangements for port facility maintenance and oversight; (vii) maintenance history; and (viii) general capability of all involved government institutions/entities.

· Identification of the current and projected land uses to define and evaluate the existing utilization of land, including, if an existing port, the current port operators, both private concessionaries and government, as well as options for changing land uses to maximize operating efficiencies for existing and future systems, and land resources for long term development.

· Consideration of land acquisition and/or relocation requirements (potential for resettlement) as necessary.

· Identification of areas which require obtaining more detailed, current or reliable information. If a new port (or expansion of an existing port) is proposed, obtaining approvals from all relevant parties for land may be a significant and time consuming issue that requires additional risk assessment. Identify the party responsible for acquiring or developing the information, the process to acquire that information, the party responsible for approval, and a timeline for information acquisition at commencement of the due diligence phase. This analysis may also require a preliminary assessment of a party’s willingness to provide an approval and the ability of a government to renegotiate or modify existing land use arrangements in a port.

· Collection and integration of satellite imagery and topographical maps at the appropriate scale (typically 1:25,000 for urban planning) identifying key elements of existing and proposed infrastructure, rights-of-way, and service areas. In addition, it may be appropriate for the due diligence process to identify other geo-spatial data – including but not limited to census data, water resources, and geological data – and combine them into a single GIS database.

· Description of the local process by which the project will receive the necessary permits and approvals of design documents and construction work.

· A preliminary description of the applicable local and regional laws, regulations and codes, as well as international agreements/treaties, related to port operations.

Once MCC has made the determination to commence appraisal on a project, the infrastructure group will conduct the following assessments and identify any key constraints.

Technical Assessment: Engineering

· Review all aspects of preliminary technical designs and proposed standards and confirm appropriateness for criteria, demand requirements and environmental and social factors.

· Survey and assess channel and navigational characteristics (including draft, width, turning radiuses, shoaling areas, navigational aids, and anchorages) and environmental factors which may affect the safe navigation of the channel to define the maximum size, operating characteristics of water access, and assist requirements for vessels to safely access and operate within the port harbor.

· Survey and assess existing piers, wharfs, or other vessel mooring and discharge/load facilities to define their physical condition, operating characteristics and constraints, and to assess safety issues, accessibility to storage and cargo processing areas and any obstructions or impediments to efficient work flow.

· Confirm that project design is based on internationally accepted engineering standards for port civil works.

· Assess capital operating equipment including rail-mounted or mobile shore cranes, container handling and/or specialized cargo discharge/load systems, or other capital equipment to define their capacities and capabilities, service life expectancy, maintenance and repair needs, and long-term replacement requirements.

· Survey and assess warehouses, container yards, bulk storage facilities, and specialized operations areas to define their physical condition, functions, operational capacities, environmental and safety concerns, and impediments to work organization and traffic flow.

· Assess accessibility of the port to land transportation and to terminal storage and cargo processing areas to define system capacities, operational limitations, bottlenecks and impediments to traffic flow, associated transport and distribution costs, and environmental, social, and safety concerns including impacts to surrounding communities, HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, child and forced labor, and gendered impacts on existing income-generating activities.

· Survey and assess security systems including perimeter fencing and surveillance systems, gate and access control systems, and emergency response systems and capabilities to determine if they meet International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards, International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) codes and International convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) requirements.

· Review topographic map of the project area.

· If projects are to be constructed within the marine environment, conduct a bathymetric survey of the project site to measure water depths, define the topographic features of the bathymetric landscape, identify potential impediments to construction, and identify archaeological remains or environmentally sensitive areas.

· Complete a geotechnical investigation of the subsurface strata of the project area to determine the characteristics of the sub-surface material and its potential impact on the engineering design.

· Identify major project risks and quantify, as much as possible, the impact of these risks on project cost, timeline and quality. Develop mitigation measures and estimate the cost of mitigation.

· Develop project cost estimates of +/-20%, including all associated costs, such as costs relating to environmental mitigation, resettlement compensation, social safeguard measures, construction supervision, project management and technical audits.

· Develop provisions to be included in project cost estimate, such as physical contingency, allowances for specific risks that were identified in Appraisal, price contingencies, and allowance for the effects of foreign exchange rate fluctuations, and determine meaningful rates of inflation – local and foreign – to apply to base costs.

Technical Assessment: Economic and Financial

The MCC economist responsible for the assessment of the project will work to ensure that proposed port project complies with MCC Guidelines for Economic and Beneficiary Analysis. The economic rate of return for each project should be sufficiently high to meet the threshold rate established by the country or, otherwise in the absence of such guidance, warrant investment Eligible countries should have reviewed relevant governance practices, including laws and regulations, and undertaken reforms, as possible, to enhance the anticipated economic benefits generated by the port project. Infrastructure input to this analysis may include the following:

· Identify benefits expected to flow from project in the area, focusing on increases in incomes for workers, firms, and households disaggregated, by beneficiary to the extent possible, by income category, gender, age, and ethnicity. Compare projected incomes and other benefits of the various demographics with and without the proposed project.

· Make an assessment of how benefits resulting from increased efficiencies (e.g., reduction in wait and queue time) are likely to accrue to the extremely poor, poor, near-poor, and not-poor and how the benefits would impact poverty reduction on the various demographic groups.

· Summarize the design standards, design life and cost estimates (capital and maintenance) and confirm these are consistent with the assumed benefits and duration of the benefit stream. Note that the duration of the benefit stream is typically assumed to be twenty years. Assumptions that the duration is longer or shorter than this should be clearly justified.

· Confirm that the costs and project life are consistent with the engineering design.

· Complete a financial model and undertake a financial analysis and FIRR for income generating subprojects.

· Confirm that the technologies that are proposed in the project and the engineering design will allow fulfillment of operational performance, financial, and economic objectives.

· Assess regional port activities, specifically addressing demand and growth for port services.

Technical Assessment: Environment, Social and Gender

MCC environment and social assessment and gender experts will review proposed projects for their compliance with MCC Environmental Guidelines and Gender Policy and resettlement guidance (www.mcc.gov), which include an expectation of compliance with host-country laws, regulations and standards, as well as requirements by which the host country is bound under international agreements (including the identification of such international agreements and obligations). Particular attention must be paid to issues which generally arise including, but not limited to, the potentially toxic nature of dredged material and disposal of dredged sediment, seasonal wildlife issues, degradation of the marine ecology, and hazardous/toxic materials currently or potentially transiting through the port as cargo, including an assessment of safeguards in place to handle/contain such materials. Assessment will also inform design by including gender analysis of use, control of resources, design appropriateness, and how well gender is integrated into project design, participatory planning processes, and implementation.

· Identify country-, region- or sector-level assessments, strategies and commitments with respect to climate change and their relevance to compact activities.

· Identify climate change impacts (from the project) and risks (to the project) and corresponding mitigation and/or adaptation opportunities, as relevant.

· Provide by income, gender, and age taking into consideration pedestrian crossing access, roadside commerce for men and women, access to health and education services, etc.), potential resettlement and persons and/or livelihoods impacted by resettlement.

· Identification of potential social risks of port construction and operation, including HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, child and forced labor, impacts on local communities, and impacts on physical cultural resources.

· Determine whether the local community has been consulted using participatory approaches in accordance with the MCC Gender Policy with mechanisms in place to ensure design takes into account findings from consultation with various stakeholders, including men, women, children, and vulnerable populations, including the elderly and the disabled.

Sustainability Assessment

· Review detailed description of current arrangements for ownership, management and maintenance of ports, including details of the legislative framework, administrative framework, funding arrangements and maintenance responsibilities. This will build on the preliminary description included in the feasibility study and should include and identify, without limitation: (i) local, regional and international laws, regulations and codes relating to port construction and operations (such as local codes and laws, as well as international agreements to which the country is a signatory); (ii) the entity responsible for overall oversight of port facilities and its scope of authority; (iii) other government institutions/entities operating in the port; (iv) any other government entity operating or acting in the port; (v) other private sector or other entities/organizations operating in port, including role and capacity; (vi) arrangements in place to manage and maintain port facilities, including road and rail networks inside and outside of the port; (vii) funding arrangements port facility maintenance and port oversight; (viii) maintenance history; and (ix) general capability of implicated government institutions/entities.

· Review existing performance with respect to clarity and level of acceptance of arrangements and responsibilities, and acceptance of creating monetary reserves for maintenance. Identify causes of inadequate performance including legislative or administrative arrangements, resources, technical capability and capacity, and funding.

· Review maintenance programs to ensure that such plans are suitable for the new or improved port, including responsibilities, resources and funding. Identify shortfalls with current arrangements and providing details of a program to strengthen port management and maintenance arrangements.

· Review details of alternative maintenance funding options, including details of income derived from users and potential for increased cost recovery.

· Prepare a summary of actions needed to maintain the port to an acceptable level, including institutional strengthening or modifications to institutional arrangements, funding (responsibility and funding levels) and additional resources needed. To the extent that institutional modifications, including modifications to existing land use arrangements or concessions within an existing port, are required, indicate parties from which approvals will be required and such party’s role within the existing institutional and operational structure.

Risk Management Assessment

· Identify significant risks to the project, with particular respect to required third party approvals or consents (e.g., from private sector operators already operating within the port), construction cost increases, delays, sustainability of the port, trade union issues, and local acceptance. Also, assess potential for delays in take-up of benefits, and other factors affecting economic performance and distribution of benefits, including social and health risks such as exacerbation of existing gender inequalities, HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, child/forced labor, or resettlement.

· Identify and assess significant risks relating to durability and confirm that design criteria adopted shall mitigate these risks within acceptable tolerance levels.

· Prepare a risk management plan to minimize the negative impact of identified environmental, social, and sustainability risks.

Implementation Assessment

· Provide a summary of the technical and construction resources available in country, and experience with projects of similar size, nature and type.

· Identify local factors that may affect the timely completion of the works, including transport to/from the location for the contractor’s equipment, fuel and other materials, seasonal weather patterns, and health issues that may impact the labor force during construction or operation such as HIV/AIDS, among others.

· Prepare an implementation program including contract awards, any approvals and permits needed, construction times, cash flow, government commitments and other hold points as appropriate.

· Recommend an appropriate procurement procedure, sequencing, and packaging.

· Recommend suitable supervision and management arrangements.

If PPP is being considered, a conventional approach could take the following form

General Consideration:

· Assess the PPP Project Preparation Gap including the infrastructure investment needs, the opportunity for PPPs, the challenges for PPPs and the imperative for best practice PPP preparation.

· Assess Project Preparation Process including – team, leadership, project governance, project management, project preparation funding and project preparation facilities.

· Review bankable feasibility study including demand forecasting, technical specifications, user charges and other funding sources, bankability testing and market sounding, stakeholder engagement, legal due diligence, permits and land acquisition.

· Assess the structure of balanced risk allocation including contract model, price regulation and competition and risk allocation and mitigation, adaptive regulation, quality regulation an intervention options.

· Assess if conducive enabling environment exists in terms of the public sector readiness of – the legal and institutional framework, capacity building, access to finance, local industry development and trade reforms, civil society readiness: transparency and anti-corruption, civil society readiness: communication, information and participation.

Specific Consideration

· Evaluate the policy, regulatory, legal and intuitional environments to support port PPP projects?

· Assess the tariff structure, cost sharing and the requirements for a breakwater for PPP port projects.

· Review the feasibility study, financial analysis, engineering design, cost estimates, specification, project delivery systems (i.e., Design-Build, EPC, etc.), construction, timeline, operations and maintenance plans and contract terms of the PPP port projects for both the breakwater and ports.

· Review the environmental, social, gender and aspects of PPP arrangements for the port project in terms of its conformance to internationally accepted best practices?