SERVICE CONTRACT NOTICE

Technical Assistance to ECOWAS for the Implementation of the 10th EDF
Transport Facilitation Project II (TFP II)
Location – West Africa (ECOWAS): Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Togo

1. Publication reference

EuropeAid/137681/IH/SER/ROC

2. Procedure

Restricted

3. Programme title

Transport Facilitation Project II 10th EDF – Support to the Commissions of ECOWAS and
UEMOA

4. Financing

Financing agreement – ROC/FED/2014/024-204

5. Contracting Authority

The Regional Authorising Officer (RAO) for the EDF, representing the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), Abuja, NIGERIA

CONTRACT SPECIFICATION

6. Nature of contract

Fee-based

7. Contract description

The contractor will support the ECOWAS Commission, based in Abuja, Nigeria, to manage the
implementation of the Transport Facilitation Programme II. The general objective of the programme
is to contribute to the growth of intra an extra community trade and exchanges through the
installation of a transport facilitation system. The implementation period will be 28 months.

The specific objectives are:

1. The operationalisation of the Joint Border Post of Noepe (Ghana/Togo) and Seme (Nigeria/Benin)

2. Establishment of the Road Information System in order to strengthen the management and
planning of improved road infrastructures in regional corridors.

3. A more efficient transport system in the regional corridors. Especially by reducing abnormal
practices and having more efficient border control systems and a more modern road
transportation sector.

The contract includes programme estimates.

The Technical Assistance team consists of two long-term transport facilitation specialists:
. One transport specialist and experienced programme manager, with extensive
knowledge of EU procurement and financing procedures, who will also act as the Team
Leader.
. One programme/financial manager with a background in transport facilitation
programmes, particularly funded by the EU.
The long-term experts will be supported by a pool of short-term experts in the areas of
transport logistics, cross-border customs systems interconnection, related experts and local
staff.

8. Number and titles of lots

One lot only

9. Maximum budget

EUR 2,800,000

10. Scope for additional services

The Contracting Authority may, at its own discretion, extend the project in duration and/or
scope subject to the availability of funding up to a maximum not exceeding the length and
value of the initial contract . Any extension of the contract would be subject to satisfactory
performance by the Contractor.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

11. Eligibility

Participation in tendering is open on equal terms to natural and legal persons (participating either
individually or in a grouping (consortium) of tenderers which are established in a Member State of
the European Union, ACP States or in a country or territory authorised by the ACP_EC Partnership
Agreement under which the contract is financed (see also item 29 below). Participation is also
open to international organisations.

12. Candidature

All eligible natural and legal persons (as per item 11 above) or groupings of such persons
(consortia) may apply.

A consortium may be a permanent, legally-established grouping or a grouping which has been
constituted informally for a specific tender procedure. All members of a consortium (ie, the
leader and all other members) are jointly and severally liable to the Contracting Authority.

The participation of an ineligible natural or legal person (as per item 11) will result in the
automatic exclusion of that person. In particular, if that ineligible person belongs to a
consortium, the whole consortium will be excluded.

13. Number of applications

No more than one application can be submitted by a natural or legal person whatever the form
of participation (as an individual legal entity or as leader or member of a consortium
submitting an application). In the event that a natural or legal person submits more than one
application, all applications in which that person has participated will be excluded.

14. Shortlist alliances prohibited

Any tenders received from tenderers comprising firms other than those mentioned in the
short-listed application forms will be excluded from this restricted tender procedure unless
prior approval from the Contracting Authority has been obtained (see Practical Guide –
PRAG- 2.4.3.). Short-listed candidates may not form alliances or subcontract to each other for
the contract in question.

15. Grounds for exclusion

As part of the application form, candidates must submit a signed declaration, included in the
standard application form, to the effect that they are not in any of the exclusion situations
listed in Section 2.3.3 of the PRAG

16. Sub-contracting

Subcontracting is allowed

17. Number of candidates to be short-listed

On the basis of the applications received, between 4 and 8 candidates will be invited to submit
detailed tenders for this contract. If the number of eligible candidates meeting the selection
criteria is less than the minimum of 4, the Contracting Authority may invite the candidates
who satisfy the criteria to submit a tender.

PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE

18. Provisional date of invitation to tender

August 2016

19. Provisional commencement date of the contract

November 2016

20. Initial period of implementation of tasks

28 months

SELECTION AND AWARD CRITERIA

21. Selection criteria

The following selection criteria will be applied to candidates. In the case of applications
submitted by a consortium, these selection criteria will be applied to the consortium as a
whole unless specified otherwise. The selection criteria will not be applied to natural persons
and single-member companies when they are sub-contractors.

1) Economic and financial capacity of candidate (based on item 3 of the application
form). In case of candidate being a public body, equivalent information should be
provided.

a) The annual turnover of the candidate for each of the last three financial years (2013, 2014,
2015) must exceed €1,500,000 EUR; and

b) The current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) in the last year for which
accounts have been closed (2015) must be at least 1. In case of a consortium this criterion
must be fulfilled by each member.
2) Professional capacity of candidate (based on items 4 and 5 of the application form)

The candidate must have at least 15 permanent staff of which at least 5 must be working in the
area of transport and transit facilitation as well as regional integration in developing countries.

3) Technical capacity of candidate (based on items 5 and 6 of the application form)

(a) The candidate has provided services under at least one (1) contract with a
budget of at least that of this contract (€2,800,000) in the area of transport or
transit facilitation, which was implemented at any moment during the
reference period: (2013, 2014 2015)
This means that the project the candidate refers to could have been started or
completed at any time during the indicated period but it does not necessarily
have to be started and completed during that period, nor implemented during the
entire period. Candidates/tenderers are allowed to refer either to projects
completed within the reference period (although started earlier) or to projects
not yet completed. In the first case the project will be considered in its whole if
proper evidence of performance is provided (statement or certificate from the
entity which awarded the contract, proof of final payment). In case of projects
still on-going only the portion satisfactorily completed during the reference
period although started earlier will be taken into consideration. This portion will
have to be supported by documentary evidence (similarly to projects completed)
also detailing its value. If a candidate/tenderer has implemented the project in a
consortium, the percentage that the candidate/tenderer has successfully
completed must be clear from the documentary evidence, together with a
description of the nature of the services provided if the selection criteria relating
to the pertinence of the experience have been used.

(b) The candidate should provide proofs of a minimum of 5 years working experience
across the fields related to regional economic integration, transport facilitation and
institutional capacity building.

(c) The candidate should have implemented at least a service contract through
programme estimates in the last three years, using international or EDF procurement
and contract procedures.

Previous experience which caused breach of contract and termination by a Contracting
Authority shall not be used as reference.

An economic operator may, where appropriate and for a particular contract, rely on the
capacities of other entities, regardless of the legal nature of the links which it has with them.
It must in that case prove to the Contracting Authority that it will have at its disposal the
resources necessary for performance of the contract, for example by producing an
commitment on the part of those entities to place those resources at its disposal. Such
entities, for instance the parent company of the economic operator, must respect the same
rules of eligibility – notably that of nationality – and must fulfil the same relevant selection
criteria as the economic operator. With regard to technical and professional criteria, an
economic operator may only rely on the capacities of other entities where the latter will
perform the works or services for which these capacities are required. With regard to
economic and financial criteria, the entities upon whose capacity the tenderer relies, become
jointly and severally liable for the performance of the contract..

If more than 8 eligible candidates meet the above selection criteria, the relative strengths
and weaknesses of the applications of these candidates must be reexamined to identify
the eight best candidates. The only factors which will be taken into consideration during
this re-examination are:

i) Experience in transport facilitation projects: two points for each additional project above
the minimum requirement.

ii) Experience in projects with programme estimates. Two points for each additional project
above the minimum.

22. Award criteria

Best price-quality ratio.

APPLICATION

23. Deadline for receipt of applications

16:00 Nigerian time on Monday, 27th June 2016

Any application received by the Contracting Authority after this deadline will not be
considered.

24. Application format and details to be provided

Applications must be submitted using the standard application form, the format and instructions
of which must be strictly observed. The application form is available from the following Internet
address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?chapterTitleCode=B

The application must be accompanied by a declaration of honour on exclusion and selection
criteria using the template available from the following Internet address:

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?chapterTitleCode=A

Any additional documentation (brochure, letter, etc) sent with an application will not be taken
into consideration.

25. How applications may be submitted

Applications must be submitted in English exclusively to the Contracting Authority in a
sealed envelope:

. EITHER by recorded delivery (official postal service) to :
Commissioner for Infrastructure

ECOWAS Commission Annex, Niger House,

3rd Floor, Plot B17 Ralph Sodeinde Street,

Adjacent to Akwa Ibom House,

CBD, Abuja, Nigeria
. OR hand delivered (including courier services) directly to the Contracting Authority in return
for a signed and dated receipt to:

Commissioner for Infrastructure

ECOWAS Commission Annex, Niger House,

3rd Floor, Plot B17 Ralph Sodeinde Street,

Adjacent to Akwa Ibom House,

CBD, Abuja, Nigeria
The Contract title and the Publication reference (see item 1 above) must be clearly
marked on the envelope containing the application and must always be mentioned in all
subsequent correspondence with the Contracting Authority.

Applications submitted by any other means will not be considered.

By submitting an application candidates accept to receive notification of the outcome of the
procedure by electronic means. Such notification shall be deemed to have been received on the
date upon which the contracting authority sends it to the electronic address referred to in the
application.

26. Alteration or withdrawal of applications

Candidates may alter or withdraw their applications by written notification prior to the
deadline for submission of applications. No application may be altered after this deadline.

Any such notification of alteration or withdrawal shall be prepared and submitted in
accordance with Item 25. The outer envelope (and the relevant inner envelope if used) must
be marked ‘Alteration’ or ‘Withdrawal’ as appropriate.

27. Operational language

All written communications for this tender procedure and contract must be in English.

28. Date of publication of prior information notice

2nd of December 2015

The notice number in OJ S may be found under the title of the project in the published notice
on the EuropeAid webpage.

29. Legal basis

Annex IV to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and
Pacific Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States,
of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 as amended in Luxembourg on 25 June
2005 and in Ouagadougou on 22 June 2010. Reference is made to Annex IV as revised by
Decision 1/2014 of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers of 20 June 2014.

30. Additional information

The opening hours of the Contracting Authority is between 9:00 a.m. till 17:00 p.m.
Mondays to Fridays except on public holidays.