Punjab Water - Legal Consultant

SELECTION OF CONSULTING FIRMS BY THE WORLD BANK GROUP REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) Electronic Submissions through WBGeProcure RFx Now ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW Assignment Title: Punjab Water - Legal Consultant Assignment Countries: Pakistan ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION Pakistan has one of the highest rates of under-five child stunting in Asia at around 40%. Significantly higher than the regional average of 31%, child stunting has become one of the most critical development challenges of the country. Within Pakistan, the province of Punjab, due to its large population, accounts for the highest share of stunted children despite having a lower average rate at 31.5%. Recent studies have identified poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services as a leading contributor to stunting. In Punjab, coverage of piped water supply is restricted to only 45%. Similarly, of the total sewage generated, only46%is treated. While most primarycities (with a population over 600,000) have access to improved water sources and toilets, over half lack access to safely managed water and sanitation. However, stunting rates are highest in the secondary cities (population between 100,000 and 600,000) mainly due to gaps in networked water and sewerage services. Planning and technical assessment by Government of Punjab (GoPb) estimates that secondary cities face substantial long-term water supply and sanitation investment needs, potentiallyexceeding $1 bn over coming decades. The World Bank has identified 16 secondary cities under the Punjab Inclusive Cities Program (PICP #P508094) with about $400 mn in financing to address priority gaps and improve WASH services. These interventions are linked to improve health outcomes, including reductions in poverty and child stunting. To address these challenges, the GoPb has launched the Cities Development program to improve water, sanitation and drainage services in Punjab’s urban areas, and the Suthra Punjab (Clean Punjab) program, which aims to support improved waste collection and disposal throughout the province. However, recognizing that the entire investment needs of the WSS sector cannot be met through its own resources, it aims to attract private investment through public private partnerships (PPP) emphasizing efficient resource use, sustainability, and long-term operational viability. The Punjab Local Government & Community Development Department (LGCDD) acting through the GoPb has agreed to pilot water sector PPPs in 2 of the 16 cities identified under PICP (the ‘Project’). The GoPb has limited capacity to undertake the processes involved in identifying, structuring, and tendering PPPs. To address this gap and given these will be the firstwater sector PPPs in the province, GoPb has requested IFC to assist in the preparation and tendering of these projects. IFC aims to support the GoPb, through LGCDD, Water and Sanitation Authorities (WASAs), and the municipalities of Kasur and Chakwal, in developing and implementation of WSS PPPs in the targeted cities. Transaction advisory support will consist of (1) structuring a viable and bankable template concession, and (2) conducting a successful bidding process to select an experienced and credible private sector operator, through a transparent and competitive process for each Transaction. The selected private operator will be responsible for financing, procuring, installing operating, maintaining and transferring the Project under a fixed-term concession. FUNDING SOURCE The World Bank Group intends to finance the assignment / services described below under the following: BB: Bank Budget IFC1: null ELIGIBILITY Eligibility restrictions apply: [Please type list of restrictions] SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS The World Bank Group 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. Firms may associate to enhance their qualifications unless otherwise stated in the solicitation documents. Where a group of firms associate to submit an EOI, they must indicate which is the lead firm. If shortlisted, the firm identified in the EOI as the lead firm will be invited to the request for proposal (RFP) phase. Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through WBGeProcure RFx Now NOTES Following this invitation for EOI, 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 be invited to participate in the RFP phase. No notification or debrief will be provided to firms which have not been shortlisted. I