Firm to Automate the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Process of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia.

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA

MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (MoCI)

Liberia Investment, Finance & Trade Project (LIFT-P)

INSURANCE BUILDING, 5TH STREET-SINKOR, OPPOSITE CONEX GAS STATIO

MONROVIA, LIBERIA

P.O. Box 9041, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia

Email: [email protected] /www.moci.gov.lr

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (REOI)

(CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRM SELECTION)

Liberia Investment, Finance and Trade Project (LIFT-P)

Project ID: P171997

Credit Number 7037-LR

Grant Number D9690-LR

March 13, 2026

Firm to Automate the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Process of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia, LR-MOCI-538872-CS-QCBS

The Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) is implementing the Liberia Investment, Finance and Trade (LIFT) Project (P171997) with financing from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group ($40 million). This project was developed to support the government’s strategic objectives to promote private sector development. Accordingly, the project development objective is to improve the investment climate, expand sustainable access to finance, and increase the efficiency of trade in Liberia. Achieving this objective requires support for improving SME’s capabilities for accessing finance and new market opportunities, to contribute to economic growth, competitiveness, and job creation. The project implementation is being coordinated by the Project Implementation Unit, under a Project Steering Committee chaired by the Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Liberia, and co-chaired by the Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).

Key Objectives of the Assignment

The objective of this consultancy is to design, develop, and deploy a secured, integrated, scalable, and user-friendly digital ESIA platform within six months. This platform is intended to enable the EPA to manage all stages of its ESIA permitting and other internal licensing processes, from licensing application and document submissions to evaluation, approval, and license issuance. The platform design shall aid monitoring and compliance tracking, ensuring alignment with legal obligations and user accessibility. The platform shall enable SMEs and the general investment community to register and manage profiles, seamlessly obtain ESIA documents and information, connect with the EPA, and promote transparency, effectiveness, and data security.

Scope of the Assignment

The firm will be responsible for developing a centralized, user-friendly platform as described in the objective above. To ensure responsiveness to user needs and alignment with project objectives, the firm will apply an agile development approach, incorporating iterative testing and stakeholder feedback at every stage of the development cycle.

The scope of the consultancy includes:

• Reviewing of the EPA’s existing ESIA procedural guideline and processes, the recent consultancy report commissioned under the project to assess the ESIA licensing framework of the EPA, and any other related EPA regulatory documents.

• Conducting best practice research, including stakeholder consultations, and design or engineer a system to align with objectives focused on seamless process flow and minimizing the time needed for obtaining ESIA permits and licenses.

• Developing a contemporary, functional hybrid (online and offline) platform that showcases an understanding of the ESIA requirements and processes, enables seamless communication and linkages between the EPA and project proponents, and facilitating the management of ESIA permitting and licensing processes. The system should facilitate future integration with other government departments and enable the integration of other useful and relevant government institutions.

• Installing the prerequisite hardware and software, which includes servers, storage systems, backup and recovery systems, and firewall systems, to secure the system and its environment.

• Completing technical and end-user documentation for system use and maintenance. All source code and configuration files must be handed over to EPA’s IT Unit upon completion of the consultancy.

• Providing training to all user groups, including system administrators, EPA's ESIA and ICT Units, ESIA-licensed consultants, and project proponents, including SMEs.

• Undertaking post-launch support and maintenance for a minimum of six months.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can found at the link below: hppt //: www.moci.gov.lr / www.emansion.gov.lr

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry now invites eligible Consulting Firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Individual Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The shortlisting criteria are listed as per the Terms of Reference provided below. The Consultant should have minimum qualifications and experience as follows:

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry now invites eligible Consulting Firms (“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 shortlisting criteria are listed as per the Terms of Reference provided below.

The Consulting Firm should have minimum qualifications and experience as follows:

• Demonstrable experience designing and implementing online web applications for clients in the public or private sector, including government agencies, MSMEs, or development projects, and partners

• Demonstrable experience using Agile or Scrum methodologies in web application development will be considered an asset.

• Demonstrate compliance with ISO 27001(mandatory) and ISO 20000 standards. If the firm does not have an ISO 20000, then reference letters from at least two government clients or international institutions, or Third-party audit reports or independent assessments, or system performance and service delivery reports confirming successful delivery and operational support of national-scale digital systems, such as an ESIA system, must be submitted.

Key Experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated July 2016, Revised November 2017, August 2018, November 2020, September 2023, February 2025 and September 2025 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

The Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method set out in the Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (July 2016 as Revised in November 2017, August 2018, November 2020, September 2023, February 2025 and September 2025).

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours, i.e., 0900 to 1600 hours GMT, Monday to Friday.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (only by email) on or before Friday March 27, 2026, with subject: “ Firm to Automate the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Process of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia, LR-MOCI-538872-CS-QCBS”.

Liberia Investment, Finance and Trade Project (LIFT-P)

Attn: Julius Y. Saye Keh-nel

Acting Project Coordinator

Insurance Building, 5th Street, Sinkor

Monrovia, Liberia

Tel: +231 88 682 2025 /776 654 713

Email: [email protected]

Cc: /[email protected] /[email protected]

Terms of Reference

Hiring of a Firm to Automate the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Process of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia