Caribbean Airport Concession Project - 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: Caribbean Airport Concession Project - Legal Consultant

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION Assignment Description The PPP Transaction Advisory Department of the International Finance Corporation(“IFC”), a member of the World Bank Group, is in discussions with the government of a Caribbean country (the “Government” or the “Client”) to provide support on due diligence, structuring, and implementation of a concession transaction for the capacity expansion and long-term operation of an international airport in the referred country (the “Airport” and the “Project”). IFC seeks a Legal Consultancy to assist IFC and the Client with the legal and regulatory aspects of the Project, including review of the existing concession framework and the operator’s compliance, assessment of the legal basis and of the appropriate contractual instrument for the transaction, identification and allocation of legal and regulatory risks, development of the contractual mechanics for performance monitoring and enforcement, support to the negotiation, and drafting of the Project Agreements and related schedules through to execution. The Consultant is expected to combine international experience in concessions and PPP transactions and knowledge of the applicable local legal and regulatory framework.

Background

The Airport is the country’s principal international gateway and the main point of entry for tourism, a crucial driver of its service-based economy. Passenger traffic is expected to continue growing, putting pressure on terminal, airside and landside capacity, while exposure to hurricanes and other climate events increases the need for resilient infrastructure. The Client is therefore seeking to secure the Airport’s capacity expansion and long-term operation under a concession, with climate-smart and resilient design, a better passenger experience, service quality sustained over the long term with independent oversight, and a simple, transparent and internationally benchmarked compensation framework. IFC will act as lead transaction advisor for the Project. The rationale for pursuing the Project as a concession is to attract private sector investment and expertise and increase the pace of infrastructure development. The Client retains sole decision-making and signing authority throughout the assignment.

Objectiveof the Assignment

The objective of the assignment is for the Consultant to assist IFC in its role as the lead transaction advisor, providing independent legal and regulatory advice to support the structuring, negotiation and documentation of the proposed Airport expansion and associated concession arrangements. Specifically, the Consultant will: - review the existing concession framework and the operator’s material compliance, and assess the legal basis and the appropriate contractual instrument for the proposed transaction; - identify material legal and regulatory risks and recommend their allocation or mitigation, and develop, together with the Technical Consultant, the contractual mechanics for performance monitoring, enforcement and remedies; - review the legal and contractual implications of the technical, demand, financial and E&S due diligence findings developed by the other consultancies; and - provide legal input throughout the structuring and implementation of the transaction, including negotiation of and support to the preparation of the Project Agreements and related schedules, IFC’s Transaction Structuring Report and the Client’s internal approval processes. 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. If you encounter technical difficulties while uploading documents, please send an e-mail to the Help Desk at [contact details removed] prior to the submission deadline.

Procurement number: 0002024031. Expressions of interest are submitted through the World Bank Group's eProcure (RFx Now) portal, which requires vendor registration.