Procurement of Consultant for Environmental & Social Impact Assessment and RAP development for the proposed construction of 10MVA 66/11kv substation and 22 km 66 kV overhead power transmission line. Maliyaduma - Nkambeni 132kV line associated substations.

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ESWATINI ELECTRICITY COMPANY

Request for Expression of Interest (REOI)

Consultancy Services for ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (ESIA)

For the proposed

Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation in Eswatini

Project ID No: P508960

Request for Expression of Interest (REOI)

Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC)

(Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini)

Environmental And Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Consultancy

Country: Kingdom of Eswatini

Name of Project: Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation in Eswatini (ASCENT Eswatini) Project

Sector: Energy Sector

Project ID No.: P508960

Reference: SZ-ECC-532527-CS-QCBS

Assignment Title: Consultant for Environmental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) development for the proposed ASCENT Overhead Power Transmission Lines and Associated Substations

• The Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini (GoKE) has received financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Agency (IDA) and grant funding from the Global Public Good (GPG) Facility, which are all under the World Bank. The received financing is for the purposes of implementing the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation in Eswatini (ASCENT Eswatini) Project (P508960) (the Project), with the involvement of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, as set out in the Loan Agreement, Financing Agreement, Grant Agreement and Project Agreements.
• The EEC now invites Expression of Interest (EOI) from interested and eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to provide the consulting services for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and related safeguard services for the ASCENT Overhead Power Transmission Lines and Associated Substations:

• Construction of 2x 10MVA 66/11kV substation at Ntabamhloshana to support the growing electricity access demand of households in the eastern part of the Manzini region
• Construction approximately 22km 66kV overhead power sub-transmission line from Pine Valley to Maphalaleni/Nsingweni and associated 1x 10MVA 66/11kV substation at Maphalaleni/Nsingweni to support the growing electricity access demand of households in the southern part of the Hhohho region.
• Construction of 1 x10MVA substation at Maphalaleni and the extension of Pine – valley substation to accommodate a new 66kV line bay.
• Construction of approximately 55km 132kV overhead power transmission line from Maliyaduma in the Mazini region to Nkambeni in the Hhohho region and associated 132kV switchyard and 2x 40MVA 132/66kV substation at Nkambeni to support the growing electricity access demand of households in the northern and western parts of the Hhohho and Lubombo regions, respectively.

• The principal activities for the consulting services shall include inter alia the following:
• Preparation of a full Environmental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), Comprehensive Mitigation Plan (CMP) and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the Pine Valley–Maphalaleni/Nsingweni 66 kV overhead transmission line and associated substations (Maphalaleni and Pine Valley).
• Preparation of a new Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) and CMP for the Ntabamhloshana 66/11 kV substation.
• Review and update of an existing IEE/CMP and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the Maliyaduma–Nkambeni 132 kV transmission line and associated substations.
• Preparation of supporting safeguard instruments including SEP, GRM, and RAP.
• Ensuring that the EEC obtain environmental authorization from the Eswatini Environmental Authority (EEA) and clearance from the World Bank.

• Interested consultants must provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform all the services. The following documents shall also be submitted along with the EOI applications by all the consulting firms including each member of JV firms:• • Copies of certificates of incorporation/registration of the consulting firms
• Financial information of the firm for the last 5 years
• Corporate profile of the firm with quality assurance plan, e.g. ISO 9001, information on organizational strength (Organization structure, number of permanent professional staff and their expertise, qualifications and number of total staff), availability of licensed software and tools for the execution of the assignment and any other necessary information deemed appropriate.

• The qualification and short-listing criteria are: The consulting firm, audit firm, academic institution, or international organization must have at least 10 years of consulting experience in ESIA, RAP and E&S Safeguards and as minimum must have completed the consulting job/contracts (i) at least three (3) ESIA assignments for 66kV or above transmission line or linear projects. (ii) at least one (1) RAP assignment for 66kV or above transmission line or linear projects (iii) At least two (2) assignment of similar nature conducted in a SADC country, preferably in Eswatini.

• The purpose of this EOI is to establish a shortlist of not more than eight (8) Prequalified Respondents for the subsequent Request for Proposal and to invite technical and financial proposals from these Respondents. All responses shall be assessed for completeness. The following shall be assessed on a Yes/No basis to determine a PASS or FAIL result; 10 years’ experience, organizational structure, quality assurance plan, certificate of registration, two (3) relevant ESIA projects, (1) relevant RAP project, two (2) completed projects in SADC and five (5) years financial information. Respondents who have attained a PASS result shall be shortlisted and the short-listing criteria are: General experience, specific project experience (ESIA), specific project experience (RAP) and SADC regional experience.

• In order to substantiate the aforementioned consulting jobs/contracts, the Consultant shall submit the End User Certificate from clients depicting main scope of the contract. All end user certificates should be in English; End user Certificates in other languages should be translated and notarized. Incomplete Consulting Contracts will not be taken into account and hence will not be evaluated.
• Consultants may associate with other consultants to enhance their qualifications. For a JV/consortium, the qualifications and experience of the members may be combined to meet the qualification requirements, only if the lead partner meets the qualification requirements independently. Where firms are associating, the submission must include verifiable evidence of association from all the parties. Experience and qualifications of parent or subsidiary of the firm will not be considered for evaluation.

• All submittal from the consulting firms shall be in English language.

• The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraphs 3.14 to 3.17 of the Seventh edition of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated September 2025, setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

• The Consultant(s) shall be evaluated and shortlisted based on the qualifications, experience and capability. Qualifications and Experience of key personnel will not be evaluated at this stage. Shortlisted Consultants will subsequently have their RFPs evaluated in accordance with the Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) method as per the Seventh edition of Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated September 2025.
• Interested eligible consultants may obtain further information by sending an email to the address below or visiting during office hours from 10.00 to 16.00 hrs. The Terms of Reference for the proposed consulting services can be accessed on the link: https://www.eec.co.sz/electricity/projects/ascent/

• Expression of interest must be delivered in a written form (in person or by e-mail) to the address below no later than 11h00 SAST on 16 June 2026 The Procurement Manager

ASCENT Eswatini Project

Eswatini Electricity Company

Eluvatsini House, Mhlambanyatsi Road,

Mbabane, Kingdom of Eswatini

Tel: +268 2409 4165

Email: [email protected] copied [email protected]

The procedures for making a Procurement-related Complaint are detailed in the “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (Annex III).” If an Applicant wishes to make a Procurement-related Complaint, the Applicant shall submit its complaint following these procedures, in writing (by the quickest means available, that is either by email or fax), to:

For the attention: Mr Mphumuzi Maziya

Title/position: Managing Director

Employer: Eswatini Electricity Company

Email address: [email protected]

In summary, at this stage, a Procurement-related Complaint may challenge any of the following:

• the terms of the Prequalification Documents; and
• the Employer’s decision not to prequalify an Applicant.