Skopje Wastewater Treatment Plant: Project Implementation Consultant (Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) – Infrastructure project facility - Technical Assistance 7 (IPF 7), Infrastructures: Energy, environment, transport and social)

Techncial support and assistance to the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), which has been established within the Public Utility Company “Vodovod i Kanalizacija” Skopje, North Macedonia, to manage the design, construction and operation of a Central Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) for Skopje with a total capacity of 650,000 PE, i.e. more than 80% of the total population living in the urban area serviced by the plant by 2045.

Skopje is the administrative, political, economic and industrial centre of the country with a population of 540,160 inhabitants (State Statistics Office, 2013). By 2045, its population is expected to increase to nearly 635,000 inhabitants, or 30% of the country’s projected population of 2 million.

Similar to most cities in the country, the wastewater produced in Skopje is discharged untreated, in this case into the upper course of Vardar River, the longest and largest river in the country (303 km). Its floodplain is mainly used for agriculture (including cattle breeding); several other industrial cities (Gostivar, Tetovo, Veles, Gevgelija) with a total population of almost 1 million people and large chemical industrial units are also located on its course.

The project is included in the Urban Planning Strategy for Skopje and the General Urban Plan for 2002 - 2022.

Service description:

Technical support and assistance to the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) for communication and coordination with stakeholders, establishment of procedures, and review of (updated) project documentation and management of preparatory activities
Assessment of synergies with other programmes/projects in the sector and across the region
Administrative and technical support to the PIU
Preparation of business procedures/operating manual/governance arrangements for the technical and financial management and monitoring of the project, and facilitation of its application in the daily work of the PIU
Preliminary assessment of training needs of the beneficiary
Assistance in the finalisation of the tender documentation and outline design for Skopje WWTP
Assistance in the preparation/collection of documentation for applications for loans, WBIF investment and TA grants, and other potential financing sources for the project
Assistance to tendering, support to the PIU in finalising the tender documentation and outline design for Skopje WWTP
Assistance in the preparation of the ToRs and other procurement documents for the services, works and supplies
Provision of advice to the PIU during the tender evaluation and contracting process of the services, works and supplies (as an observer without voting right) and preparation of observer reports on the tenders evaluation procedure
Assistance to the PIU during the contracting processes
Assistance in the preparation and dissemination of monitoring, reporting, and evaluation documents on all aspects of the project
Assistance during the loan approval procedure for Skopje WWTP
Provision of on the-job training to the Beneficiary’s staff through communication with the staff during all the activities of the assignment, preparation of the PIU’s staff to carry out the activities of the Project after the completion of the assignment

Objectives:

The overall objective of the project is to improve living conditions in Skopje and protect the environment in the areas downstream and under the influence of Vardar River through better wastewater treatment services, i.e. increased efficiency of wastewater and sludge treatment and elimination and implementation of the legal requirements and standards of the UWWT Directive (91/271/EEC).

The specific objective of the project is the design, construction and operation of a Central WWTP for Skopje with a total capacity of 650,000 PE, i.e. more than 80% of the total population living in the urban area serviced by the plant by 2045.

The successful implementation of the activities described in these ToR shall lead to the full maturity of the project and completion of the tendering phase for the Design and Build contract for Skopje WWTP. The main deliverable of the Project Implementation Consultant shall be the provision of support to the PIU established within PUC “Vodovod i Kanalizacija” Skopje to bring the Project into the contracting stage.

Currency:

€