Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) – National Consultant (Civil Engineer) for the setting up of land-based nurseries and seawater pumping system for the Adaptation Fund financed-UNDP supported ‘Restoring Marine Ecosystem Services by Rehabilitating Coral Reefs to Meet a Changing Climate Future’ project.

Project Description

The ‘Restoring Marine Ecosystem Services by Rehabilitating Coral Reefs to Meet a Changing Climate Future’ project was approved by the Adaptation Fund in October 2018 following a regional call for proposals under the themes of Food Security and Disaster Risk Reduction. The project budget of USD 10M will benefit Mauritius and Seychelles through coral restoration activities as well as capacity building programmes and knowledge exchange for the region. The project is implemented under the Direct Implementation Modality (DIM) by UNDP. Executing partners involved are the Mauritius Oceanography Institute (MOI) and the Albion Fisheries Research Centre (AFRC) under the aegis of the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping in the Republic of Mauritius; the Marine Conservation Society (MCSS), Nature Seychelles, the Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment (MACCE) in the Republic of Seychelles. The project implementation started in 2020 and the duration is six years (72 months).

The overall objective of the project is to reduce the impact of climate change on local communities and coral reef-dependent economic sectors in the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Seychelles by implementing coral reef restoration with thermal tolerant corals as adaptation to climate change.

Under this UNDP/AF project, land-based coral nurseries will be set up at the Mauritius Oceanography Institute (MOI) in an area of 52 hectares of land adjacent to MOI at Albion. Moreover, a seawater pumping system will be installed to supply the land-based nurseries with sea water. At the AFRC, land-based coral nurseries will be set up in an area of 600 sq. m adjacent to the AFRC building at Albion. The nurseries at the AFRC will be connected to the existing pump system available there.

This procurement exercise is undertaken to obtain the services of a Civil Engineer with experience in coastal and marine works to assist the UNDP Coral Reef Project Management Team (PMT) in the setting up of the land-based nurseries at MOI and AFRC, including the setting up of seawater pumping system at MOI. The Engineer will assist in the procurement exercises and ensure proper implementation of works, up to and including commissioning, for the following contracts under this project:

(i) Consultancy for the Feasibility Study, Design and Supervision of works for the setting up of land-based Nurseries at MOI and AFRC, including installation of pumping system at MOI;
(ii) Consultancies for Environment Impact Assessments (EIA);
(iii) Clearing of Sites; and
(iv) Construction of land-based nurseries at MOI and AFRC including Installation of Pumping System at MOI.

For this assignment, the Engineer will sign a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) with UNDP. RLA is a contract to a company, institution or other legal entity for the purpose of hiring identified individuals to perform consultancy services. Under the RLA, the company/institution makes the services of the named consultant available to the operational unit for a specified period. The company/institution remains responsible for the actual payment of salary, taxes and other administrative charges. UNDP “reimburses” the company for payments to the identified individual.

Scope of work

Key functions:
• Field Visits and Stakeholder Consultations
• Provision of effective support throughout all stages of procurement processes;
• Review, assess and finalise technical documents
• Monitoring of progress of works; and
• Provision of general office support.

Please consult the Terms of Reference for detailed scope of works and expected outputs for the assignment.

Duration of work

The duration of the consultancy services for the ‘Setting up of Land-based nurseries at MOI and AFRC and installation of seawater pumping system at MOI’ shall be for 7.5 person months (150 person-days) over a period of 24 months. This is a lump sum-based contract, based on set deliverables.

Duty Station

The consultant is expected to work from home/parent company premises, in Mauritius and shall remain available and shall attend meetings as required at the Mauritius Oceanography Institute and AFRC, and at the UNDP. The consultant shall remain available for consultations, progress meetings, site visits, data gathering and any other discussions as required. In such cases, the consultant shall attend in person whenever required. Furthermore, the consultant shall liaise with the PMT and stakeholders to ensure that a consultative approach is adopted. The consultant should be reachable by phone/ email/ video conference throughout the entire contract duration.

Competencies and Qualifications

The Consultant must have the following professional and technical qualifications. Only the applicants who hold these qualifications will be shortlisted and contacted.

Education:
• Master’s degree or equivalent in civil engineering or marine engineering or construction works (mechanical and civil construction) or another relevant subject.
Or
• A Bachelor’s Degree in civil engineering or marine engineering or construction works (mechanical and civil construction) or another relevant subject and a Master’s Degree in Project Management or equivalent.

Experience:
• Be a Registered Professional Engineer with the Council of Registered Professional Engineers of Mauritius
• At least 10 years of professional experience post registration in the field of consulting engineering services including civil works, including coastal environment, contract management and project site management.
• Work experience with the international organizations / Government institutions, international companies and/or CSOs would be an asset.
• Proven experience in providing consulting engineering services to construction projects /sites of similar nature with a value of $100,000 or above each) for the last 5 years.
• Proven experience in providing consulting engineering services on coastal works project of value $100,000 or above each.
• Experience in assisting Mauritian institutions in assignments of similar nature
• Experience in preparation of Terms of Reference for EIA, Feasibility Studies, Design and Supervision contracts, as well as Tender Documents for construction works
• Experience in Bid Evaluation Exercises on behalf of Mauritian Institutions
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, MS Office, etc.).

Additional requirements
• The applicant shall provide as part of the submission package, evidence that the parent company holds a Professional Indemnity Insurance cover for consulting engineering services in the applicable fields worth USD 1,000,000 at minimum.
• The applicant shall provide the profile of the parent company showing evidence of backstopping support and/or previous experience in the various relevant fields Mechanical, Electrical, Coastal works etc.) and shall also confirm that in carrying out the assignment, he/she shall benefit from such backstopping support.

Important note:
The requirements for the applicant to be a Registered Professional Engineer and the parent company to hold a Professional Indemnity Insurance Cover are mandatory.

Scope of bid price and schedule of payments

This is a lump sum contract that should include costs of consultancy and other costs required to produce the above deliverables. In full consideration for the complete and satisfactory performance of the Services under this Contract, UNDP shall pay the Contractor based on the Certificate of Payment (CoP) and supporting documents/respective against the deliverables stipulated in Section C.

Criteria for selection of best offer

The award of the contract should be made to the offeror which has been evaluated using the ‘Combined Scoring Method’ and determined as:
a) Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specified below – (Technical Criteria with a weight of 0.7 and Financial Criteria of a weight of 0.3).

Only candidates scoring a minimum of 70 marks out of 100 in the Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

The following documents are requested and should be submitted to [email protected] :
a) Duly completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
b) Personal CV or P11, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
c) Technical Proposal: Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment (including his/her experience, samples of previous work and Tracking Tools), and a methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment. The technical proposal should be submitted along with the P11 in a single pdf file; The Applicant shall ensure that the single file includes all required information including PI cover of the company and
d) Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided by the UNDP. The financial proposal should be submitted as a separate file (marked “Financial Proposal_NC/CME”) to [email protected] and should be locked with a password that would be provided upon request.

Submission of Application

Applications should be sent through email: [email protected] on or before Monday 27 September 2021 (16 00 pm Mauritius time) 

The subject of email should be : 82933_NC/CME

Annexes
Letter of confirmation of interest and availability and Submission of financial proposal
Model Contract  (for information only)
P11
Terms of Reference