Bids sought for Malawi roads-rehabilitation plan

The Malawi government is inviting applications from eligible international consulting firms with experi- ence in working in developing countries to bid for the provision of consultancy services involving the supervision of the rehabilitation of several major roads, being implemented as part of the Malawi Backlog Road Rehabilitation and Main-tenance (MABARM) programme, funded by the European Union (EU).

Included in the programme are the rehabilitation of the approximately 80-km Chikwawa–Bangula section and the 70-km Liwonde–Mangochi section, in the south of the country.

The National Authorising Office (NAO) for EU-financed projects at Malawi’s Ministry of Finance says in a statement that the rehabilitation exercise will entail repairing and single-seal dressing of sections in a relatively good condition, reconstruction and double-surface dressing of failed sections and the reconstruction of gravel road sections with a crushed stone base and surface dressing.

It says the consultancy work for the Chikwawa–Bangula road section will be rendered over months, while that for the Liwonde–Mangochi section will require 20 months to be completed.

“The two sections are about 150 km apart and two supervision teams will be required,” says the NAO.

It says that the consultancy teams for the Chikwawa–Bangula and Mangochi–Liwonde roads should include a resident engineer (who will be the team leader), a materials engineer, measurement engineers, laboratory technicians, surveyors, and inspectors of works.

“Inputs from a structural engi- neer and a draughtsperson, in addition to the occasional specialist input (to be advised) will cater for both road sections,” says the NAO.

The other consultancy con- tracts under the MABARM programme will entail the provision of consultancy services by acting as the project supervisor’s representative for the rehabilitation and maintenance of urban roads in the city of Mzuzu, and the Mzuzu–Bwengu road section in the northern region of the Southern African country.

The Mzuzu urban roads work consists of the repair, essential reconstruction and sealing of 19 roads or groups of roads total- ling 18 km, with full reconstruction of deformed sections, while the Mzuzu–Bwengu road provides about 28 km of single-seal surfacing.

“The works will be divided into two lots and may be carried out by one or two contractors. One supervision contract will cover both lots, which will be awarded concurrently.

“The period of performance of the works contracts is expected to be nine months, in addition to a 12-month maintenance period,” says the NAO.

It adds that the required staff includes a resident engineer and team leader, senior materials tech nicians, measurement engineers, laboratory technicians, surveyors, draughtspersons and inspectors of works.

“Occasional specialist input (to be advised) may be instructed,” says the NAO.

As part of the MABARM programme, the NAO is also invit- ing applications from consulting firms interested in acting as the supervisor’s representative for the periodic maintenance of the Lilongwe–Nsipe road, in central Malawi.

“As the supervisor will be the Roads Authority of Malawi, the consulting firm will provide all the support services necessary to supervise the works as well as managing an advance programme of testing to determine the depth of reconstruction,” explains the NAO.

It says the period of performance of the works is expected to be 18 months, in addition to a 12-month maintenance period.

As is the case with the other projects, the NAO says, the con-sultancy team should include a resident engineer/team leader, materials engineers, measure- ment engineers, laboratory tech- nicians, surveyors, draughts- persons and inspectors of works.

“Participation is open to all legal persons from EU member states, which contribute funding to the African, Caribbean and Pacifice (ACP)-EU partnership programme, ACP countries and the countries and territories of the regions covered and/or under other instruments applicable to the programme under which the contract is financed. Participation of natural persons is directly governed by the specific instruments applicable to the programme under which the contract is financed,” states the office.

Four to eight candidates will be invited to submit detailed tenders.

The tender closing date is January 15, while commencement is planned for May 30-.

The NAO says subcontracting is not allowed in the consultancy assignments, and should any of the works contracts be subject to an extension, there would be an expectation of extension of the contract for the supervision services.

It says that the selection criteria for the candidate will partly depend on the economic and financial capacity. The average turnover of the candidate for the last two years for which audited accounts are available must equal or exceed the maximum budget for the contract in question.

The NAO says the selection criteria will also depend on the professional capacity of the candidate, explaining that at least 20 staff must currently work for the applicant in fields related to the particular contract, and at least 20% of all staff working for the candidate this year in fields related to the contract must be permanent.

It says, in addition, the selection criteria will dwell on technical capacity, and the candidate must have worked successfully on at least two projects with a budget of at least that of the contract in question and in fields related to the contract in the past three years.

“The candidate must have expertise and experience working in developing countries in the provision of supervision services for road development or maintenance programmes, which included pavement rehabilitation and surfacing. Experience in sub-Saharan Africa will be an asset. Knowledge of and experience working with EDF procedures will be an asset,” says the NAO.

The EU is the major financier for road projects in Malawi where roads account for over 90% of the movement of goods.