Recruitment of an Independent Evaluator for End-of-Project Evaluation of ECOWAS-REAP

ECOWAS REGIONAL ELECTRICITY ACCESS PROJECT (ECOWAS-REAP)

Project – P164044

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT SELECTION)

RECRUITMENT OF AN INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR FOR END OF REAP PROJECT EVALUATION

NG-ECOWAS-DEM-539424-CS-INDV

Closing Date: 21st, May 2026 at 5:00 pm GMT

Contract: Lump sum

• Background and justification of the project

The energy sector in the ECOWAS region faces enduring challenges in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly the objective 7, which aims to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. Access to energy remains an issue for member states, with around 180 million people having insufficient or no access to electricity by 2022. There are significant disparities between member states and between urban and rural areas within each country. Electricity production remains insufficient, with a low penetration of renewable energy in mix. Transmission and distribution suffer from high commercial and technical losses, of the order of 21.5%, which are incompatible with the new production capacity needed to meet the growing demand from rapidly expanding urban areas.

ECOWAS Vision 2050 addresses these challenges as an integral part of achieving pillar 3 which is dedicated to « Infrastructure development and Interconnectivity ». The Vision document highlights the need to intensify the infrastructure development and interconnectivity to ensure availability and affordability of energy for the population.

To improve people's access to electricity, ECOWAS is working to establish a regional electricity market through the development of power generation and transmission infrastructure, and the intensification of its electricity access initiatives. With the financial support of the World Bank, ECOWAS has thus initiated the Regional Electricity Access Programme (REAP), which must normally be implemented in the form of a series of projects to gradually cover 11 countries, including 9 ECOWAS countries.

Phase 1 of the programme, entitled ECOWAS Regional Electricity Access Project (ECOWAS-REAP), covers The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Mali. With a funding of 225 million USD, The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to increase access to electricity in the ECOWAS region through the strengthening and extension of electricity distribution infrastructure (MV and LV) and the connection of households in West African countries. The implementation covers the period 2019-2025. The target is to allow 2.04 million people to benefit from electricity service by 2025. Components of the project are the following: (i) construction of the electricity distribution networks, (ii) assistance of a owner engineer for the supervision of the works and (iii) project management and implementation coordination by local units (PIU) in the beneficiary countries and a regional coordination unit (RCU) in ECOWAS Directorate of Energy and Mines.

The regional coordination of the project is ensured by ECOWAS through a Regional Coordination Unit (RCU), and Project Implementation Units (PIUs) are established in each of the countries concerned.

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• Major challenges during the implementation of the project

• Emergence of Covid-19

The project financing agreements were signed in February 2019, and the preparation period for its implementation coincided with the emergence of Covid-19.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 had widespread and unprecedented effects on the implementation of development projects worldwide, including World Bank–financed regional energy and infrastructure operations.

For multi-country projects, the pandemic created simultaneous disruptions across all participating countries, affecting implementation schedules, financial performance, and institutional capacity.

• Institutional instability

The project was significantly affected by the change of political order that occurred in Mali in 2021 and subsequently in Guinea-Bissau in 2025.

These political developments led to the temporary suspension of disbursements and activities by the World Bank, in accordance with its operational procedures regarding governance and eligibility of member states.

This suspension, which extended over a prolonged period, resulted in:

• a significant slowdown in the implementation of activities;

• delays in the execution of ongoing contracts;

• the postponement of certain supervision and technical assistance missions;

• a negative impact on the project's performance indicators.

The gradual resumption of activities required extensive technical and institutional exchanges in order to restore the required operational and fiduciary conditions.

• Project Extension:

Taking into account the delays recorded in the implementation of activities, the three beneficiary countries (Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali) and the RCU submitted in 2025 official requests for project extensions. Following the review of these requests, the World Bank issued a favorable opinion, granting an extension of the project closing date until December 31, 2026. This extension will allow the completion of infrastructure works in the 3 countries and ensure the continuity of the regional coordination activities, in support to the PIUs.

• Additional funding

Gambia has negotiated additional funding to increase the number of beneficiary localities, going from 292 to 395, to further contribute to the increase of the electrification rate in the Country. The country target to reach universal access by 2026.

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• Project Components

The project comprises three components: (a) Design, supply, and installation of electricity distribution infrastructure (MV and LV) to maximize new connections; (b) Supervision of the construction and technical advisory services under Component 1 of the Project; and (c) Project coordination and technical assistance.

Component 1: Design, supply, and installation (DSI) of electricity distribution infrastructure (estimated cost: US$192 million equivalent, of which IDA US$192 million).

This component specifically supports (a) the detailed design, supply, and installation of distribution networks through the construction of approximately 3,900 km of 33 kilovolt (kV) MV lines, approximately 1,200 33KV/400 volt(V) distribution transformers, and approximately 3,700 km of 400 V LV lines to expand grid coverage and maximize the number of new connections; and (b) the supply and installation of last mile connection equipment, including service drops, smart meters for large consumers, prepaid meters, and ready boards for LV customers in each country and street lighting, all through the financing of non-consulting services, equipment and consulting services.

Component 2: Supervision of the construction and technical advisory services under Part 1 of

the Project (estimated cost: US$6 million equivalent, of which IDA US$6 million).

This component must finance the costs associated with the recruitment of an Owner’s Engineer who will be recruited on a competitive basis under the project to supervise the work carried out under Component 1. The Owner’s Engineer will also monitor compliance with safeguard instruments (environmental and social) related to construction. The responsibility of the Owner’s Engineer will comprise review of design, technical specifications, and bidding documents; supervision of procurement and construction; contract management; and supervision of implementation of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). The Owner’s Engineer will assist each Project Implementation Unit (PIU) and the RCU during bid clarification, evaluation, and contract negotiation with the selected/awarded bidders/contractors.

Component 3: Project coordination and technical assistance (estimated cost: US$27 million

equivalent, of which IDA US$27 million).

In the spirit of strengthening national and regional capacities, this component will finance a combination of technical assistance and project management support to assist recipients in successfully implementing the project and preparing for future phases under the program. Specifically, this component will finance the strengthening of recipient implementation teams responsible for project implementation, expected project costs associated with the management of safeguards excluding the resettlement costs, and technical advisory services pertaining to preparation studies—such as least-cost electricity access development plans—for future projects in the region. The component will include two subcomponents.

• Rationale and Objectives of the End of Project Evaluation

The Project Financing Agreement was signed in regional by the ECOWAS’s Commission President on 19th, February 2019, and entered into force in the year 2021 at different date in each of beneficial country according to their context. Five years after the start of project implementation, the Regional Coordination Unit want to l undertake a comprehensive final evaluation to assess the overall performance of the project across all beneficiary countries. The evaluation will determine the extent to which the Project Development Objective was achieved, assess relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability, identify implementation challenges and lessons learned, and formulate strategic recommendations to guide the future of regional energy cooperation and subsequent operations. This report also will serve as the

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• General objective

The overall objective of this ECOWAS-REAP end of project evaluation is to assess the performance and results of the project at completion, determine the extent to which the Project Development Objective has been achieved, evaluate the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of project interventions, and provide evidence-based lessons and recommendations to inform future regio