Lighting Africa Central African Republic Off-grid Market Assessment Tender, Central African Republic - 49958662

Procurement Summary

Country : Central African Republic

Summary : Lighting Africa Central African Republic Off-grid Market Assessment

Deadline : 15 Feb 2021

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 49958662

Document Ref. No. : 1272741

Competition : ICB

Financier : World Bank (WB)

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : THE WORLD BANK GROUP
Banque Mondiale Rue des Missions Bangui Tel: +236 21 61 61 68
Central African Republic
Email :caralert@worldbank.org
URL :https://www.worldbank.org/en/

Tender Details

Expression of Interest are invited for Lighting Africa Central African Republic Off-grid Market Assessment.

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR SELECTION # 1272741

This Request for Expression of Interest is for a Firm Selection. Please log in as a valid Firm User if you wish to express interest in this selection.

Selection Information

Assignment Title

Lighting Africa Central African Republic Off-grid Market Assessment

Publication Date

04-Feb-2021

Expression of Interest Deadline

15-Feb-2021 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time - Washington D.C.)

Language of Notice

English

Selection Notice

Assignment Country

· CF - Central African Republic

Funding Sources

The World Bank Group intends to finance the assignment/services under:

· BB - BANK BUDGET

· TF0B2371 - Support for the promotion and implementation of solar PV projects in Central African Republic

Individual/Firm

The consultant will be a firm.

Assignment Description

SELECTION FOR CONSULTANTS BY THE WORLD BANK GROUP

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Electronic Submissions through World Bank Group eConsultant2
https://wbgeconsult2.worldbank.org/wbgec/index.html

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW

Assignment Title: 1272741 - Lighting Africa Central African Republic Off-grid Market Assessment

Assignment Countries:
- Central African Republic

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

CAR has considerable potential for renewable energy generation, especially solar. However, its market is underdeveloped. The primary objective of the assignment is to assess the market opportunities and challenges for adoption and scale up of off-grid solar solution market in Central African Republic. The findings and recommendations of this report will inform the Bank and other donor engagement in off-grid electrification.

FUNDING SOURCE

The World Bank Group intends to finance the assignment / services described below under the following:
- BANK BUDGET
- Trust Fund

ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility restrictions apply:
[Please type list of restrictions]

INDIVIDUAL / FIRM PROFILE
The consultant will be a firm.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The World Bank Group now invites eligible firms to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc. for firms; CV and cover letter for individuals). Please note that the total size of all attachments should be less than 5MB. Consultants may associate to enhance their qualifications.

Interested firms are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest.

Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through World Bank Group eConsultant2 (https://wbgeconsult2.worldbank.org/wbgec/index.html)

NOTES
Following this invitation for Expression of Interest, a shortlist of qualified firms will be formally invited to submit proposals. Shortlisting and selection will be subject to the availability of funding.

Only those firms which have been shortlisted will receive notification. No debrief will be provided to firms which have not been shortlisted.

Attachments

· Optional TOR File

Qualification Criteria

· 1. Provide information on the technical and managerial capabilities of the firm.

· 2. Provide information showing that they are qualified in the field of the assignment, including similar assignment and work experience in the Africa region. *

· 3. Provide information on the technical and managerial capabilities of the firm. *

· 4. Provide information on the qualifications of key staff, including proficiency in French (writing and speaking). *

· 5. undefined




Terms of Reference
Lighting Africa - Central African Republic
Off-grid Market Assessment
1. Background
The Central African Republic (CAR) is a sparsely populated, landlocked FCV country with a small and mostly informal economy. It has an area of 623, 000 square kilometers (km²) and is sparsely populated with uneven distribution of its people and a low urbanization level. Approximately 60 percent of the country-s 4.9 million people live in rural areas. The average population density is 8 inhabitants per km², ranging from one inhabitant per km² in the north (in the prefectures of Vakaga, Bamingui Bangoran, and Haute Kotto) to 9, 300 inhabitants per km² in the capital city of Bangui. The economy is dominated by the agriculture sector, which employs about 80 percent of the active population and provides about 50 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), which was about US$2.22 billion in 2019.
The electricity sector is characterized by a weak policy and regulatory framework, inadequate infrastructure, and a utility that is struggling to recover costs and thus to maintain and expand services. The CAR is endowed with abundant low-cost energy resources, including considerable hydroelectric and solar potential, but these remain underdeveloped. Electricity generation and transmission capacity has long failed to keep pace with the growth in demand, and the sectoral infrastructure stock is inadequate and dilapidated. Access to the national power grid is limited, and the electricity supply is highly erratic. The state-owned power utility, the Central African Energy Company (Energie Centrafricaine - ENERCA), suffers from serious technical, organizational, and financial deficiencies, and the sector lacks a clear policy vision or national energy development strategy.
Lack of access to electricity has made the country vulnerable amid Covid-19 pandemic. A mapping exercise conducted by WHO in 2016 using Health Resources Availability Monitoring System (HeRAMS) found that half the health facilities outside the capital, Bangui, no longer function. In some regions, more than 75% of health facilities are unable to offer basic services. One-third of district hospitals cannot provide emergency services; two-thirds of immunization services are not functional and only a quarter of ambulances are operating. Out of the 818 health facilities studied in this exercise, only 23% had availability to energy sources. Due to Coronavirus outbreak, these partially functioning systems are likely to be under aggravated demand and systemic pressure. The World Bank approved a grant of $7.5 million from the International Development Association (IDA) to help the Central African Republic respond to the threat posed by the Coronavirus outbreak and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness.
World Bank is undertaking a 3-year programmatic Advisory Services and Analytics (PASA) which aims to provide the Government of Central African Republic with the information needed to increase access to electricity through renewable energy mini-grid and off-grid solutions, including productive uses of electricity, and attract private sector participation in a sustainable manner through targeted analysis, knowledge sharing, and capacity building. Within the FCV context, the analytics and advisory support will prioritize decentralization for equality and inclusion, utility efficiency, and private sector participation.
CAR has considerable potential for renewable energy generation, especially solar. However, its market is underdeveloped. The Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project undertaken by Lighting Africa identified only six private companies in the country-s off-grid solar supply chain. Very few firms have been active in the solar market for more than a few years and there are no GOGLA-affiliated companies active in the country. Suppliers in CAR typically operate in the urban areas of Bangui, Berberati, Solo, Mambéré, Bouar, Carnot, Gamboula, Beya, Monassao. Larger companies (e.g. Startimes Media, IBM Technologie and Miracle Telecom) are manufacturer representatives who source their products from a variety of sources. These firms lack branches or distribution networks that would accelerate expansion into rural areas of the country where demand for off-grid solar products and services is higher.
As part of this PASA, together with Lighting Africa, a market assessment for standalone renewable energy solutions will be conducted for household and productive uses. The study will incorporate GIS planning into the assessment, which includes solar home system (SHS), solar water pumping for urban and agricultural use, and any other standalone RE resources that could be used for productive use. Based on the market assessment, the plan will include a subsidy analysis to understand the gap between consumers- willingness to pay and the system cost from the market. The study will complement the urgent assessment and support to the priority health and education facilities to be launched under PASA and the feasibility study for SHS solutions for public buildings to be launched under PURACEL (P164885). This activity will also support systematic and standardized assessment of off-grid competitive bidding mechanism and procurement framework (incl. adequate IT systems and platforms), conduct project development risk analysis, and explore appropriate financial risk mitigation instruments to support off-grid development, including with private sector participation.

2. Objective
The primary objective of the assignment is to assess the market opportunities and challenges for adoption and scale up of off-grid solar solution market in Central African Republic. The findings and recommendations of this report will inform the Bank and other donor engagement in off-grid electrification.

3. Scope of Work
Off-grid solar, in this case, includes pico-solar products, solar home systems (Kits and component based systems) and systems for productive use. This work should leverage on existing studies such as The Off-Grid Market asses

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