RFP Consultant Services Contract for Works - Technical Assessment and Detailed Design of Six (6) Water Treatment Plants in Iraq

New clarification added: Question:Design stage and timelinesDo UNOPS/IPMG review periods at the 30/60/90/IFC stages count within the 150-calendar-day Stage Two duration, or is the clock paused during UNOPS review?Will the UNOPS Design Planning Manual for Buildings and any standard drawing/specification templates be provided to bidders or to the awarded Consultant at commencement?What is the minimum technical threshold score under the 70/30 cumulative analysis?Regarding implementation support: is there a defined ceiling on ad-hoc site visits and RFI responses beyond the minimum three site visits, and a defined end date for the implementation-support obligation?Answer:Design reviews and approvals are counted in the timeframe given in the RFP.Templates will be provided to the awarded consultantPlease read the RFP_Section_II - Technical CriteriaImplementation support ends by 30 November 2027, start date depends on the completion of design and implementation contract awards.

New clarification added: Question:Operational and site conditionsWho is responsible for obtaining drilling permits and groundwater abstraction approvals from the Ministry of Water Resources / relevant directorates, and for land access agreements at the six sites — UNOPS, the Local Government of Ninewa, or the Consultant?What security coordination and access facilitation (checkpoint clearances, movement notifications in Sinjar and Ba'aj) will UNOPS or local authorities provide? Are there restrictions on drilling rig mobilization to these areas that bidders should account for?For water quality analysis, does "accredited laboratory" require ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation? Are laboratories in Iraq (e.g., government or university labs) acceptable, or may samples be tested regionally?Answer:the consultant is responsible for obtaininng of all types of permits, licenses from the local government.security and access ristrictions in Iraq are not pradictable, the consultants are responsible for obtaining movement permits for their teams and equipments in the project areas. UNOPS provides an introduction letter to certifiy that the consultant is working for a UNOPS project.a registered labratory in Iraq who will have to be capable of conducting the tests is acceptable.

New clarification added: Question:Eligibility and qualificationPlease specify the minimum annual turnover / financial capability figure referenced in the pre-bid meeting under the Qualification Criteria.Does registration in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq satisfy the "registration in Iraq" requirement, or is federal registration required?For JV or association submissions, will the institutional experience and turnover of all JV partners be considered cumulatively toward the qualification criteria? May the comparable-assignment requirement be met by a sub-consultant rather than the lead firm?Is a Statement of Exclusivity and Availability required for Key Personnel? May the same individual hold roles in both the Stage One and Stage Two teams (e.g., HSSE Officer)? Will Stage Two CVs be evaluated at tender stage even though Stage Two is conditional?Answer:Please refer to the criteria tab on eSourcing and to the RFP_Section_II - Qualification crtiteria. All values are defined in the named sections.Please refer to the criteria which states: "The offeror has the registration in the body that governs and regulates the engineering, consulting and/or construction industry in the Country, Iraq. All joint venture members combined must meet it"Please refer to the qualification criteria and to the Particulars tab on eSourcing - Evaluation method details - which states: "For Joint Ventures: All members of the joint venture combined must meet the criterion". Statement of Exclusivity and Availability is not required for Key Personnel.Since the Stage one and two are not implemented in parallel, therefore the same CV if meets the requirements of stage 2 can be used.Please refer ot the RFP_Section_II - Technical crtiteria which states the exact key personnel CVs that will be evaluated, and the commitment letter requirement for all key personnel.

New clarification added: Question:Payment, retention, and pricing structure1. Should the financial proposal be structured per location, so that the Stage Two price is adjusted pro-rata if UNOPS approves fewer than six locations for design? If lump-sum, how will the Stage Two contract value be determined when only some locations proceed?Answer:The bidder must price each stage separately, the costing structure has been given in the ToR.

New clarification added: Question:Scope and risk of exploratory drilling (highest priority)Section 3 indicates one exploratory borehole per location. In the event a borehole is unsuccessful and an alternative location is approved, is the drilling of additional/replacement exploratory boreholes included in the fixed price? Is there a maximum number of boreholes (or total drilled meterage) per location beyond which additional drilling would be treated as a variation?Drilling depth is stated as 250 m "or lesser depth." For pricing purposes, should bidders assume six boreholes at a full 250 m each? If UNOPS directs drilling beyond 250 m, what adjustment mechanism applies?How many alternative-location investigation cycles (reconnaissance, geophysics, drilling) per location should bidders assume within the fixed price?Are the constant-rate pumping tests to be priced at the stated 10–16 hours? If UNOPS requires longer durations, is this a variation?Answer:​In the event that an exploratory borehole is unsuccessful, the Consultant shall identify and justify an alternative drilling point within the same location based on the geophysical investigation results and obtain the Employer's Representative's approval prior to drilling. The drilling of a replacement exploratory borehole within the same location shall be deemed included in the Consultant's lump-sum price and shall not constitute grounds for a variation order or additional payment.The Consultant is required identify the most suitable locations for the future production boreholes based on the investigation findings. The Consultant shall remain fully responsible for the technical adequacy of the recommended drilling locations and the quality of the supporting investigations and assessments.Based on the recent boreholes drilled in the Sinjar area, a depth of approximately 250 m has been found to be typical. Accordingly, bidders should use 250 m per exploratory borehole as the basis for pricing their proposals. The reference to "250 m or lesser depth" recognizes that the final drilling depth will depend on the actual hydrogeological conditions encountered during drilling and may be less where the required aquifer is identified at a shallower depth, these boreholes are supposed to be sued of exploring the actual condition and water strata as stated in the ToR. The depth of 250 m is provided as an indication to support pricing and does not represent a guaranteed maximum drilling depth. The Consultant shall allow for the possibility that local hydrogeological conditions may require drilling beyond 250 m to achieve the objectives of the exploratory borehole. Any additional drilling required beyond this depth shall be deemed included in the Consultant's lump-sum price and shall not entitle the Consultant to any additional payment or variation. The Consultant is expected to make due allowance for such uncertainties when preparing its financial proposal.The Consultant shall continue undertaking the necessary investigation cycles, including reconnaissance, geophysical investigations, and exploratory drilling, until a suitable exploratory borehole is successfully identified in accordance with the requirements of Section 4.5 of the ToR– Exploratory Borehole Drilling. All such investigation cycles, including any alternative locations within the same site, shall be deemed included in the Consultant's lump-sum price and shall not constitute grounds for additional payment or a variation order.Bidders shall price the constant-rate pumping tests based on the specified duration of 10–16 hours as stated in the Terms of Reference. This duration has been established based on the performance and capacities of recently drilled boreholes in the Sinjar area and is considered sufficient to meet the project's investigation and design requirements. The Consultant should therefore assume that no pumping test duration beyond 16 hours will be required under this assignment. Consequently, no additional payment or variation shall arise in relation to the duration of the pumping tests, provided they are carried out in accordance with the approved methodology and the requirements of the Terms of Reference.

New clarification added: Question:With reference to your latest clarification response: "All of the associated activies including drilling of explore bore, pump tests and other stated in the ToR sections are part of the consultant's responsibilities, not UNOPS." Please confirm if drilling is included in the consultant's scope of work.On another note, we are aware about the tight project deadlines, but will it be possible to extend the submission deadline, by any possible duration in order to allow the preparation of a competitive proposal.UNOPS answer:The deadline for the submission cannot be extended. Drilling for the explore bores are part of the consultant's scope, for details please refer to the ToR and price your offer accordingly. This item is clearly written in the ToR.

New clarification added: Question:With reference to Annex 1 – TOR, Sections 4.5 and 4.6, please clarify whether the Consultant is expected to execute and arrange the physical field activities under these sections, including exploratory borehole drilling, pumping tests, water quality sampling/testing, required equipment, operators, logistics, and accredited laboratory services. Alternatively, please confirm whether the Consultant’s responsibility is limited to technical planning, supervision, QA/QC, analysis, and reporting, while the physical execution of these activities will be arranged by UNOPS or another party. This clarification is required because the allocation of execution responsibility has a significant impact on the Stage 1 scope, pricing, and proposal preparation.Considering that the clarification above directly affects the pricing basis of Stage 1, and that offerors may need to obtain confirmed quotations from local drilling contractors, testing providers, laboratories, and field service providers, we kindly request UNOPS to extend the submission deadline. We respectfully request an extension of at least 2 weeks to allow offerors to submit complete, compliant, and comparable proposals.UNOPS answer:All of the associated activies including drilling of explore bore, pump tests and other stated in the ToR sections are part of the consultant's responsibilities, not UNOPS.The deadline cannot be extended, due to the project timeline. 

New amendment added #1: This amendment is made to upload the pre-bid meeting minutes. Please refer to the Documents tab on eSourcing.All other terms and conditions remain the same

New clarification added: Question: We kindly request an extension of the submission deadline.Section II: Evaluation Method and Criteria under “Qualification criteria”, specifies that:“The offeror has the registration in the body that governs and regulates the engineering, consulting and/or construction industry in the Country, Iraq.All joint venture members combined must meet it.”- Please confirm whether this requirement can be satisfied through a local Iraqi entity engaged as a sub-consultant.UNOPS reply:Please note an extension of the bid submission deadline is not possible. Bidders are encouraged to prepare their bids and submit them in the provided time.Please note the criteria states that "All joint venture members combined must meet it.”. Accordingly, the bidder and JV partners, if any, will be evaluated against the requirement.

New clarification added: Question:We understand that this procurement was previously cancelled, with the stated reason being: “There is a substantial variance between the lowest bid and the cost estimates.”In order to better understand the client’s expectations and assess a realistic cost range for the project, we would appreciate your clarification on the nature of this variance. Specifically, could you please confirm whether the lowest bid was significantly lower or higher than the client’s cost estimate?Additionally, if possible, we would be grateful if you could share the value of the lowest bid and the relevant cost estimate, or any indicative budget range that may help guide our evaluation.UNOPS reply:The previous tender was cancelled as “There is a substantial variance between the lowest bid and the cost estimates.”. Please note that in accordance with UNOPS Procurement Manual, cost estimates, internal budgets, and previous bid details are strictly confidential and cannot be made public. Bidders are advised to independently assess the current, finalized requirements provided in the new solicitation documents to formulate their best fianancial and technical offer