Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Office of the Project Director
Third Road Rehabilitation and Maintenance Project
Roads and Highways Department
Sarak Bhaban, Ramna, Dhaka

Expressions of Interest (EOI)

Memo No.: RSRP/F-21/05- Date: 04-07-2005

Name of Project: Proposed Road Sector Reform Project (RSRP)
Consultancy Services for Institutional Development Action Plan (IDAP)
(a) Institutional Capacity Enhancement (Package No. S-7) & (b) IT Services (Package No. S-8)


This request for expression of Interest (EOI) follows the general procurement notice for this project that appeared in UN Development Business online dated January 21, 2005.

The Government of Bangladesh (GOB) represented by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) intends to apply for a credit in the amount of about US$229 million from the International Development Association (IDA) towards the cost of the proposed US$350 million Road Sector Reform Project (RSRP). RHD will be the executing agency for the proposed RSRP on behalf of the GOB.

The objective of the proposed RSRP is to help the GOB provide a sustainable, efficient and safe major road network in Bangladesh, particularly through enhanced asset management, planning and development, resource mobilisation and financial management. This is to be achieved through a combination of major investments in physical road network improvements and:

(a) Promotion of a comprehensive and sequenced reforms in key policy, structural and operational fields to:
(i). Improve efficiency of public sector road infrastructure investments,
(ii). Institute more sustainable road maintenance financing arrangements, and
(iii). Improve RHD’s capacity to manage and operate the country’s major road network;

(b) Advisory assistance and capacity building support for key transport sector entities; and

(c) A program of institutional development, which broadly includes Road Sector Strategy and Framework, Organizational Development, Management Process Improvement, Human Resources Management, IT / ICT & MIS and Financial Management and Audits.

An Institutional Development (ID) strategy integrated within the proposed RSRP aims to sustainably enhance the main technical and managerial capacities of RHD, Ministry of Communications (MoC), Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and Transport Sector Coordination Wing (TSCW), for enhanced performance and outcomes in the ‘major roads’ sector. This ID strategy will be implemented via an Institutional Development Action Plan (IDAP), expected to be supported by one or more bilateral / multilateral development partners. The IDAP comprises various Short term and Medium term targets for both new capacity building actions in RHD, MoC, BRTA and TSCW as well as actions to strengthen and attain sustainability in the previous institutional development achievements there.

Achievement of the ID strategy via the IDAP will require external assistance, to help the GoB facilitate and implement the IDAP as well as monitor and evaluate the ID results and impacts. Such assistance will be streamed into two categories, namely (i) consultancy services (including Technical Assistance where appropriate) for overall “IDAP facilitation, implementation and management” needs, and (ii) consultancy services for specialised IDAP-based “IT / ICT, MIS and/or information management” needs. Accordingly, RHD now invites eligible consultants to submit their EOIs for the following two proposed separate packages of ‘TA / consultancy services’ packages.

Contract Package - S7:
Consultancy Services for IDAP: Institutional Capacity Enhancement

Focal areas for new and/or further institutional strengthening action under these services are re-organization of RHD, modern business planning and management systems, road network pavement management systems, project monitoring system, financial management system and human resources management, GOB transport sector policy framework, the proposed Road Fund, pilot of Highway Safety Patrol proposals, improved GoB delegation to RHD of administrative and functional powers, implementation of Medium Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF), enhancement of (HRM) non-salary and job-based incentives, implementation of new Training Policy & Program and enhanced Audit framework. These consultancy services (including technical assistance, as appropriate) will be aimed at making both previous attainments and new initiatives fully functional, effective and sustainable.

Contract Package – S8:
Consultancy Services for IDAP : IT Services

Focal areas under these services will be finalizing / consolidation actions on Local Area Network (LAN) in RHD HQ, MoC and RHDTC, Websites for RHD and MoC, Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) between RHD HQ, MoC and RHDTC by Radio Link, IT-based pavement management system, financial management system and project monitoring system, while focal areas for new actions will be full-scale RHD Wide Area Network (WAN) implementation in RHD, improvement of staff and managerial IT capabilities / skills / awareness, enhancement of Transport Sector Co-ordination Wing (TSCW) databases and IT resources, IT-based RHD Asset Management System (AMS) and operational RHD-wide Asset Register.

Consultants may express their interest in both packages and separate EOI should be prepared for each package.

For either of the above two service packages, consultants may associate to enhance their qualifications, but should clearly/explicitly mention whether the association is in the form of a "joint- venture" or "sub-consultancy". In the case of a "joint- venture", all members must have real and well-defined inputs to the assignment, and it is preferable to limit the total number of firms including associates to a maximum of four.

Interested consultants must provide the following information indicating that they are qualified to perform the Services:

(a) Background of the firm (s) with brochures etc.
(b) General and overall experience of the firm.
(c) Experience under similar social, geographical and economic conditions.
(d) Annual turnover of the firm (s) for the last five years.
(e) Nature, cost, per month inputs, employer, location and field of input for the works in hand.
(f) Experience of firm(s) in the required area of expertise.
(g) Summery of permanent professional employees with key qualifications.

Consultants will be selected in accordance with the procedure set out by the World Bank’s Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers, May 2004.

Interested Consultants may obtain further information from the address below, from 0900 to 1600 hours from Saturday to Wednesday and from 0900 to 1400 hours on Thursday except on Government holidays.

Expressions of Interest with supporting documents must be delivered in writing separately for each of the above contract packages i.e. S7 & S8 to the address given below by July 27, 2005 and clearly marked "Request for Expressions of Interest for Contract Package-S…..... for RSRP” on the top of the EOI Envelope.

(H. M. Abdul Matin)
Project Director, RRMP-III,
and Project Co-ordinator, RSRP
Room no. 304, Block- C
Sarak Bhaban, Ramna
Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

Phone: 0088 02 9568740, Fax 0088 02 9568302
E-mail: pdrrmp@rhd.gov.bd