Evaluate Installed CORS for Sierra Leone Land Administration Project

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

Sierra Leone Land Administration Project (SLLAP)

Grant No.: E0600-SL

Project Id: P177031

Issue date: 26th June 2026

Assignment Title: Hiring of an Individual Consultant to Evaluate the Installed Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) for the Sierra Leone Land Administration Project (SLLAP).

Reference No: SL-MLHCP-557138-CS-INDV

The Government of Sierra Leone, with support from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank, is implementing the Sierra Leone Land Administration Project (SLLAP), financed through a US$41.1 million grant. The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to establish an efficient and accessible land administration system.

The project is financing the implementation of land administration reforms as outlined in the government's National Land Policy of 2015 and the Customary Land Rights and National Land Commission Acts 2022. Under component 1, the project supports institutional reforms by financing the establishment of a National Land Commission and District Land Commissions. The project will finance the required buildings, equipment, operational support, and capacity building. Further, the project supports legal land sector reforms. Component 2 finances the establishment of a digital Land Management Information System (LMIS), including the design of the system and ICT infrastructure and digitization of paper-based land records. Component 3 finances the demarcation and recording of customary land rights in rural areas and supports the land title transaction system in the Western Area, including Freetown. The project will also finance a modern geodetic network to facilitate surveying work. Component 4 finances all project management-related aspects, and Component 5 is a Contingency Emergency Response Component.

The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning and the National Land Commission through SLLAP has installed a total of 13 CORS Network to cover the entire territory of the Sierra Leone with the accurate geodetic reference frame and positional services. The Network Control Centre (NCC) was deployed and installed in May 2025 and the connection of the stations to the NCC was completed on 16 June 2025. Two hundred land professionals and experts (ministry and other agencies staff and some private surveyors) across the country have been trained in the use of the CORS Services including the proposed personnel to be assigned for the NCC maintenance.

The Network will enable surveyors around the country will be able to achieve the international accuracy standard for cadastral surveys to about 5cm or less as opposed to the 3-5m accuracy previously achieved using Handheld GPS and Phones, which was a potential cause for boundary overlaps and land conflicts all over the country especially in urban areas. In addition, the Network will ensure high precision in surveys, maximize survey time, and reduce costs. It further enhances wide coverage and improves the quality and reliability of spatial data over time

The CORS Network is in test operation since 16 June 2025 (users are from other ministry projects), ready for operational acceptance by the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Lands. Atlas/Hemisphere positional system services are operational in addition to the CORS coverage, and the services are purchased ensuring the sustainability of the positional services. The CORS Network testing period is designed to last for a period of six months. Prior to the operational acceptance of the CORS Network by the Government of Sierra Leone. The Ministry of Lands seeks the services of an experienced and competent surveyor to conduct an independent evaluation of the effectiveness and sustainability of CORS Network.

Objective of the assignment

This assignment aims to independently undertake an evaluation of the effectiveness and sustainability of the CORS Network to support Sierra Leone with the accurate geodetic reference frame and positional services.

Scope of Work

The scope of this assignment will include the following:

• Assist the Ministry in the assessment of the potential NCC staff of to effectively perform their duties as per the Terms of Reference for the staff to be assignment by the MLHCP.
• Asses the effectiveness and sustainability of the CORS Network deployed across the country taking into consideration the local conditions and the reliability and stability of the grid power supply.
• Analysis of the positional services of local providers for the needs of the CORS Network and NCC.• Data quality and accuracy evaluation: Perform an independent quality control assessment of GNSS observations and derived products. Analyse baseline residuals, loop closure statistics, multipath indicators, signaltonoise ratios, cycle slip events and coordinate time series to verify that network accuracy meets the tolerances specified for operational acceptance.
• Precommissioning and acceptance testing review: Review the results of the precommissioning tests and carry out verification tests where necessary. Confirm that:

• All CORS and the NCC can operate smoothly within 7 days under normal operating conditions.
• The ITRF 2020 CORS positions were determined with an accuracy of 1 mm or better.
• The positions of 10 well-distributed control points across the region can be determined with centimeter-level accuracy using static measurements.
• The positions of the same 10 control points determined using Network RTK corrections from the CORS network do not differ from the static positions by more than 50 mm + 1 ppm (RMS) in the plane and 80 mm in height.• Infrastructure and maintenance assessment: Conduct field visits to CORS reference stations and the NCC to evaluate physical infrastructure, power systems (solar panels, batteries, UPS and generators), communications equipment and site security. Review preventive maintenance logs and corrective maintenance records to assess compliance with maintenance procedures and identify vulnerabilities.
• Training and capacity review: Assist the Ministry in the assessment of the competency of NCC staff, system administrators, geodetic analysts and field support personnel. Evaluate the effectiveness of training programmes delivered under SLLAP and identify gaps or further capacity building requirements, drawing upon the training objectives described in the Use of the CORS Network report.
• User experience and service evaluation: Gather feedback from surveyors, government agencies and other stakeholders regarding CORS service accessibility, correction latency, coverage, reliability and customer support. Assess user adoption and identify areas for improvement in service delivery and communication.
• Metadata and datum compliance: Verify that station metadata, antenna calibrations (PCO/PCV), monument descriptions and equipment logs are complete and up to date.

Deliverable

The deliverable of this assignment shall be a compressive Sierra Leone CORS Network report. The report shall include but not limited to:

• Completed and signed operational acceptance checklist of the CORS Network. The Operational Checklist should be signed by the Acting Professional Head of the Surveys and Lands Department, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning
• Comments on Maintenance and sustainability plan of the CORS Network
• A computational analysis of the network using commercial or open-source software for baseline processing and GNSS network adjustment.• Independent quality control analysis report detailing baseline residuals, loop closures, multipath, SNR, cycle slips and coordinate time series, with evaluation against tolerance thresholds and recommendations for corrective measures.
• Station evaluation checklists and site visit reports documenting the condition of each CORS station, power and communication infrastructure, maintenance compliance and identified risks.
• Training and capacity evaluation report summarising staff competency assessments, effectiveness of existing training programmes and recommended capacitybuilding activities.
• User feedback and service evaluation report compiling results from stakeholder consultations, highlighting user satisfaction, service reliability, coverage gaps and suggested improvements.
• Recommendations for network improvement, including upgrades to power and communication systems, enhancements to preventive maintenance, integration with international reference frameworks, future network expansion and longterm sustainability strategies.

The Project now invites eligible Individuals (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services.

The minimum qualifications for the Consultant for this assignment are:

Required Qualifications and Skills:

Minimal Qualification of Personnel Requirement

• A University degree in Geodesy, Surveying or Geomatics.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in the geodesy and surveying sector.
• At least 5 years of experience managing, designing, and establishing of Geodetic control networks at local and national levels.
• Knowledge of procedures of the systems evaluation, and previous experience in the evaluation of the projects on CORS Networks establishment;
• Practical experience in CORS Network design, network observation;
• Experience in CORS data processing and analysis using modern GNSS software and tools of GNSS data processing;
• Knowledge of the procedures and practical experience in the quality control of the project deliverables;
• Good knowledge of the standards, specifications and guidelines on the area of the Geodetic Reference Frame and GNSS Networks, including international standard and guidelines (IGS guidelines and procedures, ISO standards in the domain etc.);
• Familiar with the UN-GGIM guidelines