The objective of the assignment is to provide technical assistance (TA) for the preparation of a Master Plan to address peak demand growth. The TA aims to assist the government of Uzbekistan and Uzbekenergo with the preparation of the government''s investment plan, including a review of project readiness and potential safeguard issues. The Master Plan will further identify the short-term priority investment projects urgently needed for the improved reliability of power supply, which will eventually be included in the government and Uzbekenergo''s investment program. The technical assistance comprises the following:
i. review the national investment plan in terms of the long-term power supply-demand balance;
ii. identify major load centres and problems of balancing electricity supply and demand;
iii. analyse scenarios for the increased distributed generation resources; and
iv. conduct least-cost analysis among the various technology options and investment projects.
The expected outputs of the project are described below:
a) identification of future load centres and forecasts of electricity demand for the next 20 years;
b) a strategy for meeting such increasing demand including an analysis of domestic fuel sources and consideration of the balance between energy security and regional cooperation;
c) a transmission grid development plan for interconnecting generation facilities with expected load centres to meet the forecast demand; and
d)a capacity development component under which Uzbekenergo staff will be trained to continually update the master plan after the study.
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The objectives of the project are to assist the government of Uzbekistan and Uzbekenergo in establishing a cost recovery tariff and optimised tariff structure to contribute to the financial sustainability of Uzbekenergo.
The expected outputs of the project are described below:
a) Determining the real cost of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution;
b) Designing a cost recovery tariff strategy;
c) Designing a tariff structure with a differentiated tariff for classes of customers to replace the current, single tariff for all customers which allows cross-subsidization between customer classes; and
d) Developing a roadmap for a gradual increase in tariff to full cost recovery level by 2023. The Technical Assistant will reference international best practice in cost recovery tariff design in the power sector and assess the potential application and benefits specific to Uzbekistan''s power sector More...

The City of Constanta (the City), the second largest metropolitan area of Romania with over 425 thousand population, is the largest port of the country to the Black Sea and a major commercial, trading and touristic center. S.C. RAJA S.A. Constanta (RAJA) is the Country's largest public water and wastewater utility and the regionalized water and wastewater provider for the City of Constanta, the County of Constanta and several other localities in seven adjacent counties in Romania, serving in total a population of over 3 million.

RAJA approached the EBRD with a request to explore the involvement of the private sector in decreasing Non-Revenue Water (NRW) in the City's water distribution network (the Project). RAJA requested the Bank to explore the involvement of a Private Partner under a Performance-Based Service Agreement (PBSA) between RAJA and the Private Partner, whereby the payment mechanism to the Private Partner contains certain parts linked to performance as defined in a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

The Consortium led by Corporate Solutions Consulting has been contracted to provide assistance to RAJA in the preparation of the draft PBSA, the drafting of tender documentation, launch of tender, tender evaluation and contracting of the Private Partner. More...

The situation of Turkey's passenger transport systems, including the infrastructure, does not make it easy for people with disabilities, or other people with mobility restraints, to participate in society. This project undertakes the need for major improvements in order to ensure better accessibility of the mobility services and their infrastructure. The objective of this project is to improve the mobility of elderly people and of people with disabilities and other people with mobility restraints in the passenger transport services, including the pedestrian environment.
This is achieved through the following results:
1.The platform for accessibility of transport services is established and functioning along with enhanced technical and institutional capacity on accessibility of transport services within the Ministry of Transport.
2.The comprehensive accessibility of transport strategy and corresponding detailed action plans are in place and a pipeline of pilot projects have been adopted by the Platform.
3.A team of national trainers will have obtained, through training sessions, all knowledge necessary to train the staff of institutions and private and public companies involved in the mobility of Turkey's citizens with regard to the accessibility of the transport system.
4.Communication of accessibility strategy and action plan to all major stakeholders along with trainings and visibility evens to improve awareness about the accessibility of transport services. More...

The objectives of the TA are to assist the government of Azerbaijan to develop a financial recovery plan, establish a cost recovery tariff, and optimize tariff structure which will help the government meet the financial needs for independently and efficiently running the power sector utilities. The aim is to help the Azeri power sector achieve full cost recovery by 2022.
The current electricity tariffs in Azerbaijan are considerably lower than other countries in the region and the electricity sector relies heavily on government support. As of July 2016, the tariff was increased slightly but the increase is not enough to make the electricity sector financially sustainable. The PATA will ensure an adequate phased increase in the tariffs to meet the stated objectives of this Technical Assistance (TA) whilst also considering the limitations of the most vulnerable group of electricity consumers in Azerbaijan.
The expected outputs of the project are described below:
1. Calculate the real cost of electricity supply (power generation, transmission, and distribution).;
2. Design new tariff structure for power generation (including options for carbon pricing for thermal generation), transmission, and distribution, with differentiating tariffs for different customers and different generation sources;
3. Develop a financial recovery road map for a gradual increase in tariff, to achieve full cost recovery by 2022;
4. Undertake a public information campaign on tariff reform, case studies of good practices in other countries, and institutional strengthening. More...

The EU is committed to a policy of sequenced engagement with Ukraine and to a close relationship that encompasses gradual progress towards political association and economic integration. Thus Ukraine is a priority partner country within the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and the Eastern Partnership (EaP). The transport sector is important in Ukraine''s economy and hence efficiency improvements are particularly important to raising competitiveness. However the sector currently lacks a sound basis for transport infrastructure cycle management. Therefore, the overall objective of the project, of which this contract is a part of, is to facilitate and promote reform that ensures reliability, transparency and accountability in infrastructure management for efficient, effective and safe transport operations.
More specifically, the aims of this assignment are to:
1.Contribute to the reform of infrastructure cycle management, including planning, approval, procurement, implementation, maintenance and to the application of legislative, administrative, operational, and organisational improvements;
2.Reduce the procedural and administrative obstacles for efficient and effective planning, preparation, implementation and maintenance of infrastructure projects, with a special focus on transparency and accountability issues. More...

EDL decided to follow on from the activities under the previous contract undertaken by Corporate Solutions to design and develop the technical and functional specification for Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) and assist the company with the tendering and selection of the FMIS supplier. The previous contract resulted in the selection of one of the leading ERP packages and contracts of approx USD 4m in value, with a large IT system integration company.
The scope of the services of this assignment includes the provision of advisory services and guidance to EDL to effectively manage the FMIS supplier activities during the implementation period, ensure that the system meets the requirements of EDL and that it is implemented to a high level of quality standards. The ultimate aim is to ensure that a fully operational system is in place. In addition, EDL has embarked on the acquisition of a new billing system to replace its existing system and requires Corporate Solutions to provide management support to EDL for the implementation of this system too.
As part of the FMIS implementation project, it became clear that due to the technology and lack of support, the legacy HRM and payroll system could not be integrated with the new FMIS. Corporate Solutions is therefore also required to develop specifications and negotiate implementation of the HRM and Payroll system that will be integrated with the new FMIS and replace the current system used by the client.
The work covers the following areas:
FMIS tender support; Management support for the implementation of the new FMIS; Management support for the implementation of the new billing system. More...

The overall objective of the project is to support local and national authorities to address regional, social and economic disparities in order to enhance competitiveness, job creation and inclusive growth.

The expected results of the project are grouped in 4 Components as described below:

1.Result 1 - Capacities of the Ministry of Economy and Industry enhanced. It is expected that at least 35 staff of central and regional offices of the Department of Development of Regions and State Programmes will directly benefit from the PRDP support;
2.Result 2 - A model of Regional Development Plan, as an instrument to realise efficiently the "State programme on socio-economic development of regions 2014-2018" in a selected pilot region is produced and approved by the beneficiary institution;
3.Result 3 -Specific methodology and assessment instruments developed in the pilot region, for providing infrastructure and support to the development of entrepreneurship and of economic activities are available;
4.Result 4 - The capacities of the Department for Cooperation with International Organizations are enhanced in relation to the monitoring of the projects funded by International Financial Institutions and implemented in the regions of Azerbaijan. More...

The state-owned energy utility in Zambia, ZESCO, has received financial support from the World Bank, acting as administrator for the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA), to implement the Electricity Access for Low-income Households in Zambia project. The objective of the project is to increase access to grid-based electricity services by low-income households in urban and peri-urban areas.
Under the project, households and Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in targeted areas will gain access to electricity through either a standard or enhanced connection. The outputs under the project are approximately 22,000 working household electricity connections for low-income consumers in urban and peri-urban areas of Zambia; installation of ready boards for about 3,000 of the connected households; and approximately 5,000 MSEs connected to the electricity grid in target areas.
The objective of this assignment is to verify that the grid connections have been installed by the service provider, ZESCO, in accordance with the project objectives. Specifically, the Consultant will:
1. Verify that installed connections are consistent with either the standard or the enhanced connection as described earlier and meet the quality standards required by the Energy Regulation Board;
2. Verify that installed customer connections are in eligible project target areas;
3. Check that customers have been provided with basic training and user information;
4. Prepare output verification reports (OVRs) that underpin the subsidy disbursement requests; and,
5. Report on the key performance indicators for the project as laid out in the Results Framework. More...

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has developed a project together with the Joint Stock Company Kyzylorda Regional Electricity Company and the Akimat of Kyzylorda Oblast to modernise electricity distribution networks in the City and Oblast of Kyzylorda. The Company has been suffering from poor operating and financial performance in the past decade, resulting in substantial underinvestment and the deterioration of quality of supply. Meanwhile, the regional electricity demand has been growing steadily at 3-4 per cent annually, contributing to a gradual decline in quality of supply and increasing electricity losses. The Project will enable the Company to address the above outlined issues and improve its electricity distribution services by financing priority investments for the rehabilitation and modernisation of the metering system and strengthening of the network. More...

The Joint Stock Company Akbulak together with the Akimat of Aktobe Oblast and the Akimat of Aktobe City have requested the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to provide technical assistance for Aktobe Water project to upgrade the water and wastewater services in the city of Aktobe resulting in enhanced energy efficiency and reduction in water consumption and water losses in the system.

The Company now intends to retain a consulting company to support the Company and the Project Implementation Unit to improve its commercial standing, service and environmental and social performance by helping to identify and implement the necessary corporate, financial and operational improvements required to meet the related financial ratios and good commercial standing operational covenants included in the EBRD finance documents. The Company will be the major beneficiary of the services rendered by the Consultant and will have overall responsibility for the project. More...

The Government of Kazakhstan has requested EBRD to provide technical assistance on reforming the tariff policy and regulatory framework for natural monopolies and dominants in infrastructure sector. The Bank approved Infrastructure regulation and tariff policy development project in 2013 with the objectives to provide assistance to the authorities of Kazakhstan in reforming the existing system of tariff regulation for natural monopolies and dominants in infrastructure sectors, adopting a modern and transparent framework for regulation, as well as strengthening the institutional powers and means to implement and administer such framework. As of October 2015, the Bank has completed Phase 1 of Tariff TC by providing the Government with recommendations on improving the tariff policy and regulatory framework. The Government has agreed with these recommendations and requested actual implementation of these recommendations on the basis of pilot projects, which will constitute Phase 2 of the project. Below is the Terms of Reference for Phase 2 of the project.
The expected outputs of the project are described below:

1.Prepare detailed incentive based tariff regulation methodology and document tariff calculation process for the water sector;
2.Assist pilot company in implementation of proposed tariff methodologies;
3.Assist Regulator in implementation of proposed methodologies and reviewing of investment program of pilot company and tariff approval;
4.Assist the Regulator and Legal Consultant in drafting relevant amendments to laws and secondary legislation based on prepared methodologies and recommendations. More...

The proposed Power Generation Efficiency Improvement Project will construct two units of 450 megawatt (MW) combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) at the Talimarjan Thermal Power Plant (implementing agency) in Kashkadarya region, contributing to energy saving, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and reliable power supply in Uzbekistan. The Talimarjan TPP is completely owned by the state energy company, Uzbekenergo (executing agency). The project will build on the experience gained through the Talimarjan Power Project (Phase 1 project) by further improving corporate governance, and promoting commercialization of the energy sector. More...

The objectives of the assignment are to assist the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan to: 1. Review, and amend as necessary, the key standards which govern the highway design and construction works including standards for road safety assessment/approval of performed works and the management of the country's road sector so as to produce safer and more cost-effective outcomes which are responsive to the needs of market-oriented economies, and enable the introduction of productivity-enhancing technology in the current and expected future funding environment;
2. Prepare a Road Sector Institutional Reform Strategy and Action Plan to help establish a more sustainable institutional framework for the road sector, including the introduction of more commercial approaches to the management of the road network for the road funding environment that is likely to prevail in the medium to long term. More...

Majority of transport services in Dushanbe are provided by minibuses, restructuring of the network by the City should create the market conditions for improving the position of the trolleybus in Dushanbe. The main focus of this assignment is to assist the Trolleybus Company in preparing a Trolleybus Routes Priority Rehabilitation Plan, a Full Operational Plan, a Maintenance and Repair Programme and a Five-year Business Plan. Additionally, the assignment will assist the Company with implementation of the signed Public Service Contract
The objectives of this assignment are to
1.Identify the best measure to rehabilitate the power supply, so optimal use of the available fleet can be made.
2.Improve the planning of business, operation and maintenance to assure optimal use of the available resources and assets within the framework of the Public Service Contract
3.Set the stage for a more effective and efficient operation of the Company in future years.
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EDL implemented a financial management system early in 2000 including two main blocks, namely the billing and collection and the Accounting and Financial Management System (AFMS). The Billing system has been fully implemented and currently in operation throughout the country and has been one of the factors for improving the financial management of EDL. The AFMS system was not fully implemented for a number of reasons and the old ledger system (ALIS) coexists. EDL is also using a small scale accounting system to provide a bridge on the accounting system operation.
EDL has undertaken a management restructuring with the aim of improving its operations. As a result of this initiative it reviewed the Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) requirements and respective capacity building to complement this business development with the objective of taking the company to the league of international utility practices. The objective of this project is to:
1. Review current processes and produce design specifications for the modernisation of its FMIS;
2. Assist EDL to prepare documentation for the process to procure a new FMIS and subsequently assist EDL in administering the bidding and evaluation procurement process. More...

The overall objective of the project is to support ZESCO in strengthening good corporate governance and compliance within the company, in order to enhance efficiencies, provide greater transparency and accountability, eradicate corruption, ensure sound decision-making, improve the quality of service, improve financial, technical, and engineering performance and help ensure that decisions are based on sound business principles.
Corporate Solutions is helping create a basic, functioning program that includes high-level governance policies, internal controls for targeted day-to-day operations, compliance mechanisms to promote adherence to the rules, and training of personnel to equip them to train others. This infrastructure will position the company to further build governance, controls, and compliance mechanisms on an ongoing basis to address additional needs and shift operations and risk profiles. More...

ENR is a crucial player in Egypt''s transport sector, delivering 1.2 million passenger journeys per day, including significant commuter traffic into Cairo, which would otherwise have to be accommodated on the overcrowded road network. The EBRD is providing vital funds to ENR to support its comprehensive 10-year investment plan for transforming into a more efficient operator, including funding the purchase of twelve new locomotives and 60 new carriages to be used on long-distance services.The objective of this assignment is to assist ENR with developing and improving its Environmental, Health and Safety performance within its operations to meet the EBRD''s Environmental and Social Policy, by implementing the requirements of the project agreed Environmental & Social Action Plan (ESAP).
An important result of Phase I was the successful development of an Environmental Management System (EMS), and the development and adoption of a company-wide Environmental Policy. Subsequently, Corporate Solutions received additional funding for Phase II of the project, piloting the implementation of the EMS into ENR maintenance depots. More...

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD or the Bank) has developed a project (the Project) together with the State Communal Enterprise Kyzylorda Su Zhuyesi (the Company) and the Akimat of the City of Kyzylorda (the Akimat) to upgrade the water and wastewater system in the City of Kyzylorda (Kyzylorda or the City) in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The Project will enable the Company to improve its water and wastewater services by financing priority investments for the rehabilitation and modernisation of the water supply and wastewater management infrastructure. The Project will result in increased energy efficiency, a reduction in losses, and improvements in environmental standards. This will stimulate the process of commercialisation of water and wastewater operations in general, thus supporting the sector reforms.
The Company and the Akimat require a firm or group of experts (the Consultant) to assist the Company and the private management company (to be selected during the Project implementation period) operating under the terms of the Public Service Management Contract (PSMC) (the Manager) to improve the Company's commercial standing, service and environmental and social performance. The Consultants will identify and implement the necessary corporate, financial and operational improvements required to meet the related covenants included in the EBRD finance documents. More...

EDL is the monopoly electricity company in Laos and is responsible for Transmission and Distribution of electricity across the country. It also is a majority shareholder of electricity generation company (Egen) in Laos. In 2015, EDL appointed Corporate Solutions to assist it with the specification of a comprehensive and integrated Financial Management Information System (FMIS) to be introduced throughout the company supporting some 300 accounting staff. The Consultant was also required to prepare tender documentation for the FMIS and assist EDL with selection of a supplier. A supplier from Vietnam was selected to implement SAP for EDL following a competitive bidding process using World Bank standard bidding documents and procurement guidelines. Following the selection of the supplier, Corporate Solutions' contract was extended to support the company with managing the implementation of the new system and overseeing the supplier activities, In addition the Corporate Solutions was requested to review a parallel project to introduce a billing system and provide opinion as to the quality of the system and provide recommendations to bring the project on track. EDL is currently considering a further contract extension for Corporate Solutions to support the company with specification and implementation of Payroll and HR information systems. More...