Materials / Pavement Engineer for Technical Audit of the Works and Supervision Contracts for the Re-construction of the Mbarara-Ntungamo-Katuna Road

Job Description

Project information

The road project Mbarara – Ntungamo - Kabale – Katuna consists of two separate works contracts with a total length of 124 km. Lot 2: Mbarara – Ntungamo, 59 km of single carriageway, starting at approximately 30km after Mbarara Town to 29km beyond Ntungamo Town. Lot 3: Ntungamo – Kabale – Katuna, 65km of single carriageway starting approximately 29km after Ntungamo Town on the Ntungamo – Kabale road and ending at Katuna Border Post.

Contract works include: construction/extension of culverts and drains, earthwork, rock fill in swamps, realignment of bends, construction of climbing lanes, parking lanes, construction of junctions, scarifying existing pavement and reprocessing it to form sub-base, construction of new pavement layers of crushed stone , DBM binder course and asphaltic wearing course, etc.

Specific objectives

Specifically, the Framework Consultant is required to provide assurance to the Contracting Authority, the Supervisor and the European Commission of:

1. conformity of the works executed and the services rendered with the conditions of the financing agreement (and any addenda thereof), the contracts signed (and any addenda thereof) and the tender documents for works and supervision,
2. technical quality and quantity of the outputs in relation to the expenditure made,
3. regular progress of the works executed under the road projects referred to in section (1.3) above, together with their supervision,
4. proper organisation of the site(s) and compliance with the contractual rules and with best practice in the road-construction sector,
5. the sound contractual management of the contracts: to minimise the risk of complaints, litigation and/or disputes, it must be checked that each party duly meets its obligations.
6. A special attention with comments on appropriateness or correctness of the revision of prices formula in works contract documents and its application. Including a suggestion on a negotiation strategy to adopt in case the existing formulae are found to be inappropriate or incorrect.
7. the quality of the supervision services in terms of the number of staff utilised and good management of the contract with respect to the contract obligation (time to respond to contractual issues and matters arising during the entire contract period).

The Framework Consultant must report any anomaly that could affect these objectives and must make the appropriate recommendations to prevent or remedy them. He must be completely independent of the parties carrying out the works and supervision contracts as well as of any particular interest in the State of the Contracting Authority that could compromise his independence.

EXPERTS’ PROFILES

The Project Manager/Team Leader (Total of 60 working days) should be a Senior Expert. He/She must have at least a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering, or equivalent, with a general working experience of at least 10 years.

A combined specific experience of at least 10 years is required in construction, supervision and contract management of similar works projects. He/she must have a recent experience working as Resident Engineer. He/she must have an excellent knowledge of and experience with audit methods. A very good knowledge of written and spoken English is necessary. Relevant experience in the region would be desirable.

The Materials / Pavement Engineer (Total of 50 working days) should be a Senior Expert. He/She must have at least a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering, or equivalent, with at least 10 years general experience and at least 10 years relevant experience on similar works projects. He/she must be a materials engineer with an in-depth knowledge of pavement engineering or a pavement engineer with a thorough knowledge of materials. A very good knowledge of written and spoken English is necessary. Two individuals with complimentary expertise, one in Materials and another in Pavement Engineering may be proposed by the Framework Consultant .

The Claims Specialist who should have experience in Quantity Surveys (50 working days) should be a Senior Expert Experts. They must have at least a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering, or equivalent, with at least 10 years general experience and at least 5 years relevant experience on similar works projects, including at least 3 years in Sub-Saharan Africa. A very good knowledge of written and spoken English is necessary. Experience in contract negotiation would be desirable.

The foreseen start date of the audit is tentatively mid November 2013.

4.2 Foreseen duration and phasing of the missions

The audit will extend over a period of approximately 24 calendar months and will be carried out in two to three separate missions. The interval between Mission in Year 1 and the second mission should be of approx. 6months. The date of Last mission will depend on the progress of completion.

Mission 1 (in 2013. Duration: 21 Calendar Days)

Phase 1: Inception Phase

The experts will establish contacts with all the key stakeholders and familiarise themselves with all relevant documents. Phase 1 is expected to take one week and conclude with the submission of an Inception Report.

Phase 2: Audit Phase

Phase 2 follows Phase 1 without interruption and is the first phase of the actual audit as detailed in these Terms of Reference.

Phase 3: Audit of Contractor’s Interim Payment Certificates

Examination and verification of Contractor’s invoices, to be carried out by the Quantity Surveyor. This phase was added to the Terms of Reference as a result of findings during Phase 2.

Mission 2 (Approx. 6 months after end of 1^st Mission. Duration: 7 Calendar Days))

Phase 4: Audit Phase

Phase 4 is an interim period during which the technical Framework Consultant will assess compliance with any recommendations that may have been made after Phases 1,2 & 3. The implementation of this phase will depend on the outcome of the first 3 phases mentioned above and is expected to be carried out by only the Team Leader over a 1 week period. Other members may participate only if requested by the Client (Contracting Authority).

Mission 3 (depending on completion date. Duration: 21 Calendar Days))

Phase 5: Audit Phase

Phase 5 is the final phase of the audit as detailed in these Terms of Reference. The time of this input depends on the progress of the Works Contract and is expected to take place Two weeks after substantial completion expected in June 2015.

4.3 Location(s) of assignment

The location of the audit is Mbarara – Ntungamo - Kabale – Katuna Road, South-Western Uganda, as described in par. 1.3. Audit activities are to be conducted at the construction site(s) and in the offices of the Contractor and the Supervising Consultant at Kabale, and if and where necessary in the offices of the Supervisor and the EC Delegation and any other location deemed necessary by the Framework Consultant , subject to prior approval.