Technical Assistance to operationalize the Road Asset Management System (RAMS)

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION)

Country: Moldova

Name of Project: Moldova Rural Connectivity Project

Project ID: P180153

Assignment Title: Technical assistance for the further development of Road Asset Management System in Moldova

Reference No . (as per Procurement Plan): MRCP/CS/08

The Government of the Republic of Moldova has received financing from the World Bank (the “Bank” or the “WB”) in the form of a loan/credit toward the cost of the Moldova Rural Connectivity Project. The S.A. ”Administraia Naional a Drumurilor” (“NRA” or JSC “National Road Administration”), an implementing agency (the “Client”), intends to apply part of the proceeds of this loan/credit to eligible payments under the contract for which this Request for Expressions of Interest is issued. NRA has developed and operates a Road Asset Management System (RAMS). However, there are still many unresolved issues that prevent the proper use of the RAMS as a key pillar for the further effective road investment and maintenance planning processes, such as: lack of integration/interoperability of sub systems; manual intensive data collection; fragmentation of roles in RAMS related data collection and utilization; non-clear future alignment with the road register; lack of the sufficient legal regulation. NRA intends to retain a consultant to lay the strategic, technical, institutional, and legal groundwork for the modernization of NRA's Road Asset Management System, so that Moldova's national road network can be managed efficiently, cost-effectively, and in line with European standards. Specifically, consultant will be required to review business processes and recommend improvements; review of existing IT based tools, software, databases, etc. architecture and integration and recommendations for further improvement preparation; develop a future RAMS Roadmap; define the asset inventory scope and data governance framework required for the future RAMS; Policy Framework Development; develop a training program and conduct a number of in-person workshops covering mentioned above topics.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be obtained following a formal request to the Client to procurement.wb@andsa.md .

The NRA now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Consulting Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The Consultant will be a firm or a group of firms (JVCA[1]) with previous project experience related to Construction Supervision Services.

The shortlisting criteria:

The following shortlisting criteria will be applied to all consulting firms (individual company or joint venture overall) that have submitted EoI:

1. Criterion: General Firm Experience

Proven general experience and verifiable track record in providing consultancy/technical assistance related to Road Asset Management Systems (RAMSs), completed within the past ten (10) years. RAMS-related consultancy/technical assistance may cover studies; strategies; policy frameworks; institutional support; or preparation of methodologies, guidelines, and standards.

Scoring:

The Consultant shall be awarded up to 20 points based on the quality and relevance of project references.

2. Criterion: Development or implementation of RAMS solutions

Proven specific expertise and verifiable track record in the assignments related to development or implementation of the existing RAMS solutions, deployed on local and/or national road networks with paved and unpaved roads, completed within the past ten (10) years. For the purpose of this criterion, an assignment shall be considered completed if the RAMS solution has been fully developed and/or deployed and formally accepted by the client, regardless of subsequent maintenance or update activities. Preference will be given to projects related to the local road networks.

Scoring:

The Consultant shall be awarded up to 40 points based on the quality and relevance of project references.

3. Criterion: Road network data

Proven specific expertise and verifiable track record in the assignments related to road network data survey, collection, and verification to be incorporated in a developed road database, completed within the past ten (10) years.

Scoring:

The Consultant shall be awarded up to 30 points based on the quality and relevance of project references.

4. Criterion: Training

Proven specific expertise and verifiable track record in delivering training related to RAMS completed within the last ten (10) years, with preference given to projects related to the local road networks.

Scoring:

The Consultant shall be awarded up to 10 points based on the quality and relevance of project references.

As a proof, the Consultant shall prepare a table listing following information: name of the relevant assignments, year of contract’s implementation (start year, end year), information on contract value, length of road network covered, percentage carried out by Consultant in case of association of firms and short description of main activities, contracting entity/client, country/region, contact reference (name, e-mail, phone number). The maximum score that can be awarded to the Consultant is 100 points based on the cumulative evaluation of all criteria.

Key Experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage.

The submitted EOI shall not exceed 40 pages.

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Quality and Cost-Based Selection method (QCBS) set out in the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers”, February 2025, setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.15 3.16, 3.17 and 3.18 of the abovementioned World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers”, setting forth the World