TERMS OF REFERENCE (TORs) FOR FEASIBILITY STUDY, DETAILED
DESIGN AND SUPERVISION OF WORKS
1. Background
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Government of Zimbabwe and OFID are
financing the Smallholder Irrigation Revitalization Programme (SIRP) in Zimbabwe. The Programme,
which was formally launched on 18 November 2016, will be completed by 17 November 2023. The aim of
the programme is to achieve food and nutrition security, and ensure the resilience of smallholder
communities to climate change effects and economic shocks by enhancing households’ production,
productivity and income levels as well as improving access to agricultural markets and financial
services. To achieve this SIRP focuses on:
(i) revitalization of irrigation infrastructure;
(ii) promotion of improved smallholder irrigation management;
(iii) promotion of good agricultural practices;
(iv) improving access to output markets and rural financial services and
(v) enhancing capacity for irrigation development and market-led production.
SIRP aims to revitalize approximately 6,100 ha of existing smallholder irrigation schemes, mostly
in communal and old resettlement areas in Natural Regions III, IV and V of Manicaland, Masvingo,
Matabeleland South and Midlands provinces. An estimated 15,000 poor food insecure households,
representing 75,000 persons that are engaging in irrigation agriculture and 12,500 households with
no access to irrigation in adjacent rainfed areas will directly benefit from the SIRP intervention.
The programme is also targeting 2,000 youths who will be involved in production, aggregation,
marketing, service provision and small to medium scale businesses along the irrigation value chain.
Additionally, the programme will capacitate 500 extension and technical service providers to
improve their capacity for more responsive, effective and efficient service delivery.
2. Objective and Scope of the Assignment
The assignment involves conducting feasibility studies on pre-selected irrigation schemes as
detailed in Annex 2, producing detailed designs of the same and supervising contracted works
relating to the target schemes. Feasibility studies will assess the socio-economic, financial,
technical and environmental viability of revitalizing each of the targeted irrigation schemes. The
feasibility studies will consider options for revitalization, and the consultant will elaborate the
most feasible option into a detailed design to guide the revitalization process. The consultant
will use developed detailed designs to produce tender documents that will guide the bidding
process. Following selection of a Contractor to carryout works, the consultant assumes the
responsibility of supervising implementation of works, as specified.
3. Description of the Assignment: Feasibility Study, Detailed Design and Supervision of a batch of
schemes listed in Annex 2
3.1. Feasibility Study
i. Background and general description of the project area
The consultant is required to provide scheme background information, including general description
of the project area, location, objectives for establishment of the scheme, scheme size, number of
beneficiaries (disaggregated by Gender), plot sizes, management structure, accessibility etc.
ii. Climate and Natural resources aspects Climate
The consultant is required to:
o establish historical trends of critical climatological factors
o Investigate climatic conditions of the project area by analyzing climatological data from the
nearest reliable meteorological stations.
o use standard statistical procedures and report on effective rainfall, minimum and maximum
temperatures, humidity, wind and sunshine hours.
Natural Resources Land and soils
The consultant is required to carry out topographical mapping of the scheme area in cases where the
assignment involves investigations for purposes of expanding existing irrigation schemes or
introducing new irrigation technologies. . The consultant will complete mapping at a scale of
1:5000
Topographic surveys: Topographic surveys must be compliant with existing national technical
standards and norms for projects of this nature. The consultant will comply with the following
requirements and conduct activities as detailed below:
o Confirm the availability of topographical maps from previous surveys conducted on existing
schemes and propose additional surveys as necessary. DOI and the PCU have to approve proposed
surveys before they are undertaken.
o Produce a topographic contour map at a scale of 1:10,000, as necessary. The map should show all
roads, houses, agricultural lands (irrigable and commanded areas), agro-industrial areas,
residential areas, streams, rivers, utility lines (if existing) and water supply wells. The
consultant shall construct permanent benchmarks at appropriate locations, and name these with
detailed information on elevation and coordinates. The benchmarks should be referenced to the
datum. In the event of maps not being available, the consultant shall undertake a quick assessment
and survey to identify the potential area that would be inundated/submerged, and the area that
would be irrigated once headwork are installed. The consultant shall produce a topographic contour
map and establish longitudinal and cross-sections of the proposed irrigation scheme, including
embankments, water storage areas and primary channels. He/she will use a Total Station to establish
longitudinal sections at a scale of 1:100 verticals and 1:500 horizontal; and cross sections at a
scale of 1:200.
Geological survey or Boring (if required)
o The consultant will drill borings through soil columns to solid bedrock, or to 1.5 meters depth,
whichever is less, for all proposed sites. He/she will conduct soil analyses and testing to
classify and evaluate the load bearing strength, slope stability and settlement properties of the
soil types encountered, as well as the permeability and attenuated properties of the soils to act
as a barrier to leachate generation and groundwater contamination. The consultant will conduct soil
analyses and testing on disturbed and undisturbed soil samples in line with existing international
standards. All investigations and analyses shall comply with guidelines and standards for soil
surveys and testing relevant to Zimbabwe. Classification, by particle size, plasticity, moisture
content, liquid limit, etc., shall be adequate to name each soil and indicate whether it is a loamy
soil (sandy clay loam or clay loam depending on the distribution of silt, clay and sand in the
soil). The consultant will conduct a minimum of one boring per 10 ha for purposes of developing a
soil properties map. In the same vain, there shall be two or more boreholes for each upstream
structure, and 4-5 boreholes in each 1km length of irrigation canal.
Investigation of borrow pit areas
The consultant shall:
o Identify location, and determine supply capacity and quality of materials. He/she shall also
determine access routes to borrow area and calculate accurate distances between borrow pits and
construction sites.
Gathering of information necessary for prioritization analysis and technical design.
The consultant shall:
o Review available reports and technical designs of similar small-scale irrigation schemes, and
assessments of the performance of these existing systems
o Collect available information relating meteorology, hydrology; and catchment and stream
characteristic (including area, topography, current flow, water levels and discharge (to be
differentiated between wet and dry season performance), flood duration, etc.
o Conduct meetings and interviews with responsible agencies and local people, respectively and
collect information regarding population, livelihoods, land-use, irrigation, crop types, crops
development plans, and any other socio-economic information
o Conduct pedological soil surveys and map soils to a scale of 1:5000. The consultant should
produce soil maps for areas where the programme plans to expand existing irrigation schemes or
introduce new irrigation technologies.
o Conduct soil analysis, including texture, depth, infiltration rates, hydraulic conductivity,
electrolyte conductivity, total dissolved solids, pH, soil fertility, salinity, and groundwater
quality and use these to determine soils irrigability potential (only in cases where expansions are
involved).
Water resources
The consultant will:
o Assess water availability and supply reliability.
o Assess the quality of available irrigation water.
o Assess ground and surface-water resource trends, including forecasted changes in rainfall
patterns in associated catchment areas, and any observable effects of climate change on water
supplies
o Assess surface and underground hydrology of target catchments
o Assess annual water requirements (net seasonal consumptive use, estimated mean precipitation,
effective stored moisture and net and gross irrigation requirements).
o Develop recommendations for improved management of water resources.
o Assess existing water rights as enshrined in the Water Act.
o Assess field irrigation-water requirements, and demand by different users.
o Identify the implications of multiple users on given/shared water resources
o Identify the implications of using transboundary water resources (where this is applicable)
o Conduct bathymetric surveys where dammed surface water supplies are involved.
o Determine min/ max water levels at identified water intake points/sites.
o Determine the impact of scheme revitalization on other riparian water users, including upstream
and downstream users; and recommend best practices for conflict resolution and management.
iii. Agriculture Production/ Farming Systems Analysis
In order to determine the nature of agricultural system and levels of production, the consultant is
required to:
o Assess existing land tenure systems and land use patterns, including current agricultural
practices, production patterns, profitability, and net annual benefits of existing cropping
enterprises. He/ she will suggest alternative profitable cropping enterprises on the basis of
findings of the assessment.
o Assess crop water requirements for proposed crops using standard methods such as the Penman
method.
o Rank and recommend possible irrigation method options, as necessary.
iv. Irrigation System and Infrastructure Options Analysis
On irrigation system and infrastructure option analysis, the consultant will:
o Conduct a detailed inventory of irrigation and drainage infrastructure, last mile access roads,
system efficiencies (conveyance, distribution and equity)
o Identify and quantify rehabilitation and expansion requirements.
o Analyze surface and sub-surface hydraulics of prevailing and proposed irrigation structures and
systems.
o Provide alternative feasible irrigation systems, including cost estimates.
o Develop new irrigation design and drainage layouts as necessary.
o Conduct diagnostic assessments of existing irrigation O&M systems.
o Prepare preliminary designs, including cost estimates and bill of quantities (BOQs) for
recommended irrigation systems.
o Collaborate with the community to prepare schemes’ revitalization plans.
o Design and estimate costs of related ancillary infrastructure and equipment such as sheds,
toilets, storage facilities; and processing and tillage equipment.
v. Social Economic Aspects
The consultant will:
o Review current socio-economic trends including demographics, farming experience, labour trends,
land ownership, sources of income, farm equipment, access to credit and attitudes towards the
project.
o Identify major constraints in both irrigated and rainfed agriculture and recommend possible
interventions.
o Assess existing institutional arrangements in irrigation development and management.
o Assess the degree of social inclusion, including ways in which gender inequality is being
addressed and recommend strategies for effective poverty targeting for both rainfed and irrigation
interventions;
vi. Marketing and Credit Aspects
On marketing and credit issues, the consultant is required to:
o Assess and analyze input and output markets, and financial markets for recommended cropping
systems, including their proximity and accessibility.
o Assess whether there are any marketing cooperatives in place and establish their functionality
and effectiveness
o Assess existing infrastructure, including transport and communication systems and roads.
o Assess value addition options and/or storage facilities
vii. Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
On environmental issues, the consultant is required to:
o Assess the potential impacts of the proposed intervention, distinguishing between positive and
negative, direct and indirect, unavoidable and irreversible, intermediate and long-term.
o Conduct an Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the project and prepare an EMP to
comply with the provisions of the EMA regulations. The ESIA should include but should not be
limited to;
❖ Soil erosion and sedimentation levels in project catchments
❖ Flooding and Water logging
❖ Prevalence of water related diseases such as malaria
❖ Levels of fertilizer, herbicide, fungicide and pesticide use and appropriateness of application
methods
❖ Effects of using chemical inputs on downstream water quality
viii. Institutional and Management Aspects
The consultant is required to:
o Assess existing scheme management/governance frameworks and propose models for effective
governance/management specific to each scheme, as necessary
o Conduct irrigation scheme specific institutional support analysis
o Propose models for sustainable O&M and link this to the discussion paper on management models for
irrigation schemes being developed by DOI.
o Estimate costs for sustainable O&M for each of the schemes under study.
ix. Economic and Financial Aspects
In order to determine economic and financial parameters of irrigation schemes, the consultant
should:
o Conduct economic and financial analysis (cost/benefit, and sensitivity analysis, cashflow,
project risk) for existing irrigation systems and propose alternative engineering design options.
o Evaluate project capacity to repay investment costs.
x. Revitalization Plan
o The consultant will work with irrigators and other stakeholders to develop a gender sensitive
scheme Revitalization Plan. The Plan will include; i) a summary of the recently conducted PPA
highlighting historic performance issues; ii) an agreed action plan for increasing performance,
with deadlines and responsible actors assigned for each action; and iii) key performance indicators
for monitoring progress.
xi. Table of Deliverables
No Deliverable Delivery timeframe
1. Inception report Two week after contract signing
2. Draft feasibility study report, including preliminary design and layouts for all irrigation
system options,
recommendations for construction and O&M, scheme Revitalization plan, ESIA and EMP.
As project sizes are variable, bidding consultants will propose timeframes for producing draft
reports, and these will be considered as part of the evaluation process
3. Final feasibility study report,
4. including preliminary design and layouts for all irrigation system
options,
recommendations for construction and O&M, scheme Revitalization plans, Greater Scheme plans, ESIA
and EMP.
Three weeks after receiving comments on the draft feasibility study report
xii. Duration of the contract
o The consultant (s) should complete feasibility studies within a period of not more than 140 days
following contract signing.
3.2 Detailed Design
The assignment involves developing Detailed Technical Design and Tender Document Preparation for
smallholder irrigation schemes included in this batch, including
(i) Technical design drawing and report
Detailed designs will include geotechnical, hydraulic and structural designs, and the consultant is
required to:
• Review original design parameters (hydraulic and structural) for irrigation and provide revised
design/drawings, as necessary.
• Prepare designs/drawings for: i) new structures (as necessary), and ii) for damaged structures
which require large scale modifications in their structural designs based on field and other
relevant data.
i) Designs shall be in accordance with relevant S.I. codes conforming to sound construction
procedures.
ii) Designs should conform to topographical conditions, water demand for irrigation, water
availability and local setting to conserve water and maximize water use efficiency. Choice of
technology to be employed will be dependent on appropriateness depending on the specific condition
of the sites (the process of choosing and deciding on the type of technology to be employed should
be participatory).
iii) The consultant should present designs in a design report accompanied by ready for construction
digital engineering drawings. Digital engineering drawings should preferably be done in AutoCAD.
iv) The design report should highlight construction costs, including materials, labour, management,
supervision and contingencies.
v) The design report will capture O&M procedures for the irrigation scheme, including, but not
limited to:
o Short description of the system
o Detailed procedures for operation, maintenance and management of the entire system and each
hydraulic unit
o Required technical skills and O&M team set up
o Estimated annual costs for O&M (these should be used for cost benefit analysis)
(ii) Construction and management plan
Will cover but will not be limited to:
• Overall construction plan and implementation schedule
• Construction methods and procedures
• Flow diversion works during construction period (if required)
• Preconstruction activities, including construction camps, access and
transportation routes, communication, water, electricity, etc.
• Location of borrow pit areas
• Assessment of required contractors’ capacity and labor force requirements.
• Developed critical path analysis of activities.
(iii) Preparation of bidding documents
• The consultant is required to dvelop detailed technical design and drawings, including
technical specifications, BOQ and works program
• Technical Specifications should be the basis for preparing bidding documents, and should be
informed by the technical design report.
• The consultant shall develop a construction/implementation plan, including a construction
supervision plan, coordination strategy among parties, etc.
(iv) Stakeholder consultation and finalization of the bidding document
• The consultant is required to engage in a close consultative process with local authorities at
all stages of project design.
• Consultations should cover production of technical designs, development of construction plans,
development of supervision plans etc.
• All consultative engagements must be recorded, and suggestions and comments made by
local authorities, villagers should be incorporated.
• The consultant must be in constant discussions with DoI and the PCU to ensure adherence to
Government approval processes in site selection prioritization and production of detailed technical
designs.
(vi) Tender Document
• The consultant will prepare contract packages and tendering documents for all civil works,
equipment and associated services according to the SIRP procurement guidelines.
• Specifically, the consultant will prepare the following documents:
o Contract package and draft Procurement Plan
o Tender documents for works and goods (including prequalification documents)
o Engineering cost estimates for revitalization, including access roads, power supplies, portable
water and sanitary facilities.
3.3 Supervision of construction works
The consultant is required to work closely with DOI, a hired Technical Assistant Irrigation
Engineer and the PCU to supervise construction of approved design and tendered works. He/ she
should ensure that the company contracted for the works adheres to designs and contractual
specifications in the statement of works. The task for supervision of construction works include;
• Verification of the contractor’s preconstruction survey and setting out.
• Undertaking full administration of the construction contract and supervising construction works,
including all civil, electrical & mechanical works. The consultant assume responsibility for the
Defects Notification Period (DNP)) and assuming the role of “the Engineer” for purposes of
undertaking all tasks as per ZGCC4 and FIDIC General Conditions of Contract for Construction. This
shall include on-site supervision of the contractors’ works to comply with specifications, review
of Contractor’s submittals, verification of progress, preparation of interim payment requests;
producing certificates and checking and approving the quality assurance procedures produced by the
contractors.
• Overseeing and supervising construction of works and ensuring compliance with details provided in
the construction drawings. The consultant will also ensure strict adherence to construction
specifications.
• Participating in all project site and review meetings
• Identifying and advising on risk factors
• Putting into place a comprehensive quality control program, including detailed methodology for
inspection, sampling, testing, and confirming its adequacy. The consultant will also be responsible
for ensuring that the contractor is satisfactorily employing/ carrying out the quality control
program in the field.
• Developing a monitoring and evaluation plan for the project.
• Developing a program of works and cashflows in consultation with the contractor.
• Preparing all supporting documents and providing legal and contract-related support to PCU for
contractual disputes and legal actions, adjudication or arbitration between the PCU and the
Contractor and attend court/hearing, as necessary;
• Supervising repairs, replacement and installation of mechanical and electrical equipment in a
satisfactory and safe manner in accordance with specifications and contract requirements;
• Carrying out measurements & verification of works and agreed quantities with the contractor(s)
and give recommendations.
• Preparing instructions of permissible variations to the works for approval by the PCU;
4 Deliverables
The consultant will work closely with DoI (supported the TA Irrigation Engineer) to deliver the
following deliverables in a timely manner.
Deliverables Timing
(From contract signing)
Survey proposal with detailed survey plan and cost estimate breakdown
Data collection and geographical and geotechnical survey reports
Technical design report, including detailed technical design drawing, and report
Week 2
Week 10
Week 16
Construction and management plan Week 18
Bidding document week 20
5 Payment schedule
The assignment will start on xxxxx. PCU will effect payment to the consultant upon timely
submission of agreed deliverables, as follows:
Deliverables Payment conditions Percentage of payment
Inception report Upon approval of inception report by DoI
and PCU
20%
Draft Feasibility report and detailed technical designs
Final Feasibility report and detailed technical designs
Upon submission of Draft feasibility report and draft designs
Approval of the Final Feasibility report and detailed technical designs by DoI and PCU
20%
40%
Bidding documents Approval of Final bidding
documents by Procurement Review Committee and IFAD
20%
6. Supporting resources for the assignment
The consultant will be responsible for all necessary arrangements to facilitate work. Primarily,
the consultant shall be responsible for organizing office space,
accommodation, communications, data collection, workshop, travel and any other incidentals and
associated costs.
The PCU will provide implementation support for the assignment, and introduce the consultant to
relevant agencies and stakeholders. The PCU will also be responsible for all necessary arrangements
to enable its team to monitor and supervise the implementation process for the assignment.
7. Qualification Criteria
Consultants are required to develop their own methodology, staffing plan, level of effort and work
approach to accomplish the TORs. The consultants shall have a track record in water resource
management and hydraulic engineering, hydrology, economics and project management, and shall have
proven experience in design, construction and management of hydraulic and irrigation schemes in
Zimbabwe and/ or in the Southern Africa region.
Expertise Required for the Consultancy:
The Consultant`s team should be composed of the following personnel;
• A Civil/Irrigation Engineer or Hydraulic Engineer as Team Leader (level BSc/B Tech minimum) with
at least 10 years’ experience. The Team Leader must have spent at least three of the 10 years
leading the planning, designing and/ or implementing irrigation projects in developing countries.
They must also have experience in evaluation, opinion surveys, interviews, case studies or any
other related field. Working knowledge of water users groups and participatory irrigation design
and development is an added advantage
• An Irrigation Engineer (level BSc, minimum) with 5 years proven experience in irrigation
development. The candidate must have worked on three similar assignments involving planning,
designing and implementing irrigation projects in developing countries. He/ she must also have
experience in evaluation, opinion surveys, interviews, case studies or any other related field.
• An Irrigation Technician (level Diploma, minimum) with proven experience of at least 7 years, and
three similar experiences in studies on planning, designing and implementing irrigation projects in
developing countries.
• An irrigation agronomist: BSc in Agriculture/Irrigation Water management/Agronomy; with at least
5 years’ experience in agronomic design of irrigation systems. Working knowledge on water user
groups and familiarity with crops and cropping patterns in Zimbabwe would be an added advantage.
He/ she must also have experience in evaluation, opinion surveys, interviews, case studies or any
other related field.
• Topographic surveyor with a minimum qualification of a Diploma in surveying or related field, and
at least 10 years’ experience in topo surveys, of which a minimum of five years should have been
spent surveying irrigation projects.
• A team of socio economic surveyors led by a senior socio-economist (BSc degree level) with at
least 10 years of proven experience and working knowledge of participatory irrigation development
and management in Zimbabwe or other developing countries. They must have demonstrated knowledge and
experience in evaluation, opinion surveys, interviews and case studies. Knowledge of local
languages (Shona and Ndebele) would be an added advantage.
An environmentalist with BSc degree and 5 years proven experience. The environmentalist should have
worked on at least two similar assignments, preferably in Zimbabwe or in the Southern Africa
region.
Bid Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation committee will use the staged tender approach, involving a two envelope system in
which the technical proposal (first envelope) is evaluated and bids ranked before the financial
offer (second envelope) is opened. Tenderers are advised to place technical and financial proposals
of their tenders in separate, clearly marked, envelopes. These envelopes should be placed inside a
single envelope and normal procedures apply for the lodging of the tender. The evaluation committee
shall invite all bidding companies/ consortia and any other interesting parties to attend the
tender opening meeting. The appropriate tender committee shall open submitted technical proposals
in public immediately following closure of proposals submission time. Tenders will initially be
assessed, in accordance with the evaluation methodology being utilized, against non-price criteria,
i.e. on their technical merits. Once tenders
have been assessed against the technical criteria, a financial evaluation of the prices tendered
(or quoted) will then be undertaken.
The Contracting Authority shall evaluate bids, solely based on submitted Technical and Financial
Proposals. The Authority evaluation committee shall evaluate Technical Proposals based on their
responsiveness to the Terms of Reference and the RFP, applying the evaluation criteria,
sub-criteria, and point system specified in the Data Sheet. The evaluation committee will publicly
open Financial Proposals and evaluate them at a prescribed time, following completion of Technical
proposals evaluation.
Evaluation of Technical Proposals
Interested applicants must present in their bids a proposal on the methodology and the organization
of the work to carry out the study. The technical proposal must provide all the information needed
for awarding the contract. Assessment and award of the contract will be based on each applicant’s
bid. All presented information will be assessed in light of the criteria set out in these
specifications. Specifically, the evaluation committee will consider the following, among other
things, in awarding marks:
Qualifications and experience
i) Previous experience with similar assignments/ projects ;
ii) Experience working in similar areas and conditions;
iii) Demonstrated capacity of consultants to carry out the assignment;
iv) Degree of specialization of individual members assigned to the contract
v) References from previous clients, banks, etc
vi) Good organization and management;
vii) Demonstrated capacity to handle/ deal with legal disputes
Proposed methodology and works plan
i) Demonstrated understanding of the assignment and its objectives
ii) Responsiveness of the proposed methodology and work plan to the Terms of Reference of the
assignment;
iii) Demonstrated degree of innovativeness in approach;
iv) Quality and clarity of the proposed methodology;
v) Demonstrated efficiency in resource utilization;
vi) Appropriateness and cost efficiency of the proposed technology;
vii) Effectiveness of proposed supervision approach
viii) Flexibility and adaptability;
ix) Timeliness of outputs;
x) Reliability and sustainability of the proposed technology;
Quality of proposed staff
i) General qualifications;
ii) Education level;
iii) Experience of individual staff working in similar assignments;
iv) Publications on relevant subjects;
v) Degree of specialization in the assigned role
vi) Professional experience and status;
Financial criteria
The contract will be awarded to the tender, which offers the best value for money.
Criteria for Assessment of Proposals Technical Proposal (80%)
The evaluation committee will award points for the technical proposal based on the following
criteria:
• Expertise and experience of the consulting firm and the responsiveness of the technical
proposal to the RFP – 40%
• Technical competency of the Team Leader – 20%
• Technical competency of individual Team Members – 30%
• Appraisal and feedback from past clients on similar/related assignments – 10%
Financial Proposal (20%)
• To be computed as a ratio of the Proposal’s offer to the lowest price among the proposals
received by SIRP
Rating the Technical Proposal (TP)
TP Rating = (Total Score Obtained by the Offer / Max. Obtainable Score for TP) x 100
Rating the Financial Proposal (FP)
FP Rating = (Lowest Priced Offer / Price of the Offer Being Reviewed) x 100
Total Combined Score = (TP Rating x Weight of TP (80% in this case) + (FP Rating) x (Weight of FP
(20% in this case)
The Total Combined Score represents the Final Rating of the Proposal
i) The contracting authority will award the contract to the bidder earning the highest
combined score based on the 80% technical offer and 20% price weight distribution, as shown below.
ii) The contracting authority will award the contract based on full acceptance of the general
terms and conditions set by the contracting authority for the contract. Non-acceptance of the
general terms and conditions may be
grounds for the rejection of the Proposal.
