Expression of Interest (EOI) at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Posted by Future on Fri 12th Nov, 2021 - nigeriantenders.com

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) invites interested / eligible Consulting firms to indicate interest by submitting EOI documents for the following works:

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) - Established on May 28th, 1975 via the treaty of Lagos, ECOWAS is a 15-member regional group with a mandate of promoting economic integration in all fields of activity of the constituting countries.

Considered one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, ECOWAS was set up to foster the ideal of collective self-sufficiency for its member states. As a trading union, it is also meant to create a single, large trading bloc through economic cooperation.

Applications are invited for:

Title: Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) - Selection of a Consultant (Firm) to Conduct a Feasibility Study for the Development of the Amilcar Cabral Submarine Cable Project

Reference No. QCBS/PPDU-AECID/PROC/01/21

Preamble

Article 33 of the ECOWAS Treaty entreats Member States to “develop, modernize, coordinate and standardize their National Telecommunication Networks in order to provide reliable interconnection amongst Member States, and coordinate their efforts with a view to mobilizing national and international financial resources through participation of the private sector in the provision of Telecommunication/ICT services”. In line with the above mandate, the ECOWAS Commission has been implementing a broadband infrastructure development programme, which aims at promoting the development of a reliable and modern regional telecoms broadband infrastructure, alternate broadband infrastructures and submarine cables.

As a result of reforms and accompanying investments in broadband infrastructure within the region, a total of six (6) submarine cables have been deployed along the West African coast, with 26 landing points in twelve (12) Member States, connecting the region to the rest of the world. Despite this progress, a number of countries remain with access to only one submarine cable.

To address this issue of lack of redundancy and the vulnerable position of the countries in this position, the Amilcar Cabral submarine Cable project was conceived to connect Cabo Verde to its closest neighbours on the mainland West Africa and thereby provide a connection to various other international submarine cables.

A pre-feasibility study conducted for the project concluded that the project is economically and commercially viable under some scenarios studies and recommends the public private partnership approach for its implementation.

The objectives of the Amilcar Cabral submarine cable project are to:

Provide much needed and guaranteed redundancy in international connectivity for The Gambia, GuineaBissau, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Liberia.
Contribute to the digital development of the region by supplementing international connectivity infrastructure to support digital networks, services and applications which can facilitate socio-economic development;
Improve the level of integration of Cabo Verde with the rest of the West Africa region at the network infrastructure level so as to improve the viability and success of regional projects such as the implementation of Regional Roaming;
Increase the international capacity available in the ECOWAS region to support the growth of internet and related applications.
In order to address the above, the ECOWAS Commission is seeking to engage a Consultancy firm to conduct detailed studies for the further preparation of the Amilcar Cabral Submarine Cable project. The Consultancy services (“the Services”) shall include but not necessarily limited to the duties and responsibilities outlined below:
- Review the technical requirements for the Amilcar Cabral Submarine Cable system with the aim of coming up with a detailed conceptual design considering various scenarios.
- To perform an environmental scanning of the catchment area of the project and provide a preliminary Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the project.
- Perform the requisite economic, financial, regulatory and institutional analysis for the development of a sound business plan and financial model, as well as propose suitable institutional arrangement for the execution of the project.
- Draft the necessary documents for the tendering of the project based on the recommended deployment model.

Qualification Requirements

The ECOWAS Commission now invites eligible Consulting firms 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 as follow:

Experience:

The Consultancy firm must have vast experience in carrying out technical, economic and financial studies in ICT infrastructure projects in the ECOWAS region
The Consultancy firm must have experience in the preparation and/or implementation of at least one Infrastructure PPP project and in project structuring.
The Consultancy firm must have demonstrated experience in the execution of at least one similar assignment (the preparation of detailed technical specifications and economic/financial analysis for the implementation of an international undersea cable).
The Consultancy firm is expected to present an experienced multidisciplinary team comprising at least the following:
- Team leader
- Telecommunications Engineer
- Economic/Financial expert
- PPP expert
- Environmental Specialist; and
- Legal and institutional expert with experience in telecommunications and international law.
The professionals who make up this team must have at least a Master’s degree in their specific disciplines and possess at least 10 years work experience except the Team leader who must have at least 15 years work experience.

Language:

The consultant shall demonstrate its ability to work in any of the three ECOWAS Official languages (English, French and Portuguese).

Duration:

The duration of the contract shall be for a period of 8.5 calendar months.

NB: In addressing the above listed criteria, Consultancy firms must provide tangible evidence and detailed references for all claims made in terms of experience and capabilities, similar assignments, availability of appropriate skills among staff etc. Each reference provided should be summarized on a project sheet and will be considered and accepted only if the candidate attaches supporting documents indicating the contact information of the contracting authorities so as to facilitate verification of the information provided, covering contracts OR copies of attestation(s) of good performance of each contract presented, as issued and signed by the Client.

Application Closing Date

11:00am Friday, 3rd December, 2021.

Submission of Documents

Expressions of Interest (1 original and 3 copies) must be delivered in sealed envelopes and clearly marked "Selection of a Consultant (Firm) to Conduct a Feasibility Study for the Development of the Amilcar Cabral Submarine Cable Project", Do not open except in the presence of the Evaluation Committee" and deposited in the ECOWAS Tender Box is located in the:

Directorate of General Administration,

Procurement Division,

1st Floor ECOWAS Commission,

101 Yakubu Gowon Crescent,

Asokoro District,

P. M. B. 401,

F.C.T - Abuja.

N/B: Please note that electronic submissions are not accepted and will not be evaluated.

Interested consultants may obtain further information at the email addresses below during office hours: Monday to Friday from 9.00 am GMT+1 to 5.00 pm GMT+1.

Email: sbangoura@ecowas.int , procurement@ecowas.int with copy to: mzongo@ecowas.int , kfye@ecowas.int , sabdou@araa.org , ppdu@ecowas.int

Please Note

Interested Consultancy firms may apply as a consortium or partnership to ensure and/or boost their consolidated capacities to execute the assignment.
The attention of interested Individual consultants is particularly drawn to Article 118 of the ECOWAS Revised Procurement Code (“Infringements by Candidates, Bidders and Awardees”), providing information on corrupt or fraudulent practices in competing for or executing a contract. In addition, please refer to the following specific information on conflict of interest related to this assignment as per “Article 119 of the ECOWAS Revised Procurement Code.
The Consultants will be selected in accordance to the Quality and Cost-based Selection (QCBS) method set out in the ECOWAS Revised Procurement Code and a shortlist of five to eight (5-8) firms, which present the best profiles with all claims dully substantiated, shall be drawn up for further consideration after the expression of interest.