Guidelines for Employment of Consultants under JBIC ODA Loans

Section 2.01 Types of Assignment

• (1) In general, the services of consultants can be grouped into the following four broad categories:
  • (a) Preinvestment studies, including:
    • i) determination of the relative priority to be accorded a project;
    • ii) formation and comparison of alternatives, and recommendations as to which is the best;
    • iii) general engineering layout and preliminary design of major structures;
    • iv) estimates of costs, benefits and construction period;
    • v) evaluation of economic and technical soundness, financial and commercial viability, suitability of organizational and managerial arrangements and social and environmental impact;
    • vi) recommendations and/or implementation related to environmental and social matters, including implementation/review of environmental impact assessments; and
    • vii) other recommendations concerning implementation of the project.
  • (b) Preparation services, including:
    • i) detailed investigations and review of preinvestment studies;
    • ii) preparation of detailed designs, specifications and contract documents;
    • iii) pre-qualification of contractors, suppliers or manufacturers (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Contractor(s)");
    • iv) evaluation of bids and recommendations regarding award of contract; and
    • v) recommendations and/or implementation related to environmental and social matters, including implementation/review of environmental impact assessments.
  • (c) Implementation services, including:
    • i) supervision of construction work;
    • ii) technical and administrative services for the implementation and management of the project; and
    • iii) recommendations and/or implementation related to environmental and social matters, including environmental management, monitoring and audit.
  • (d) Other services necessary for the project, including:
    • i) assistance in the start-up of facilities and their operation for an initial period;
    • ii) advisory services, in connection, for example, with development and sector planning and institution building;
    • iii) assistance in implementation of recommendations, post-evaluation and impact studies of the project; and
    • iv) other Borrower support services.
• (2) Taking into account the advantages of continuity of basic technical approach, it is advisable that functions (b), (c) and (d) be carried out by the same consultant. If a consultant has already satisfactorily carried out function (a), there are usually considerable advantages in appointing that consultant to carry out functions (b), (c) and (d).

Section 2.02 Responsibilities of Consultants

• (1) Consultants are at all times to exercise all reasonable skill, care and diligence in the discharge of their duties. Consultants are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their work.
• (2) In all professional matters a consultant is to act as a faithful adviser to the Borrower. The Borrower may, however, in the case of supervision of work and/or management aspects, delegate to a consultant more or less authority to act on its behalf, from full responsibility to make final decisions as an independent engineer, to that of advisor to the client with little authority to make decisions. The nature of and the limits to such delegation of authority to the consultant, as well as the scope and the nature of the responsibilities which the consultant is to assume, shall be clearly defined in the Terms of Reference and in the contract between the Borrower and the consultant.
• (3) In the case of a difference of opinion between the Borrower and the consultant on any important matters involving professional judgement that might affect the proper evaluation or execution of the project, the Borrower shall allow the consultant to submit promptly to the Borrower a written report and, simultaneously, to submit a copy to the BANK. The Borrower shall forward the report to the BANK with its comments in time to allow the BANK to study it and communicate with the Borrower before any irreversible steps are taken in the matter. In cases of urgency, a consultant shall have the right to request the Borrower and/or the BANK that the matter be discussed immediately between the Borrower and the BANK. This provision shall be stated in the Terms of Reference and in the contract between the Borrower and the consultant.

Section 2.03 Competence of Consultants

In order to ensure the efficient and proper execution of the project as specifically required by the Loan Agreement, it is essential that consultants employed on projects financed by ODA Loans of the BANK clearly possess the necessary competence.

Section 2.04 Impartiality of Consultants

In order to ensure that the goods and services used for projects financed by ODA Loans of the BANK are suitable and their cost reasonable, and in order to ensure also that designs and specifications in no way limit the BANK's requirements regarding competitive bidding, it is also essential that consultants employed on projects financed by ODA Loans of the BANK shall be demonstrably impartial.

Section 2.05 Types of Consultants

• (1) In general, consulting firms fall into one or more of the following categories:
  • (a) Independent consulting firms;
  • (b) Organizations of a public character(including public corporations and foundations) which also provide consulting services;
  • (c) Firms which combine the functions of consultant with those of contractor, or which are associated with, affiliated to, or owned by contractors;
  • (d) Firms which combine the functions of consultant with those of manufacturer, or which are associated with, affiliated to, or owned by manufacturers.
• (2) In line with Section 2.04, consulting firms in all categories of paragraph (1) of this Section employed by the Borrower to provide consulting services for the preparation related to procurement for or implementation of a project, and any of their associates/affiliates (inclusive of parent firms), shall be disqualified from working in any other capacity on the same project (including bidding relating to any goods and services for any part of the project), other than a continuation of the firm's earlier consulting services as further described in paragraph (2) of Section 3.01. Only in special cases and only with clear justification, and after taking into account all aspects and circumstances, may the BANK and the Borrower agree to permit a firm and/or its associates/affiliates (inclusive of parent firms) to be invited to bid on a project financed by ODA Loans of the BANK as a Contractor, when it is also employed on the same project as a consultant.
• (3) The provisions of paragraph (2) of this Section also apply to Contractors who lend, or temporarily second, their personnel to firms or organizations which are engaged in consulting services for the preparation related to procurement for or implementation of the project, if the personnel would be involved in any capacity on the same project.

Section 2.06 Eligibility

• (1) A consulting firm employed by the Borrower for a project financed by ODA Loans of the BANK shall satisfy all of the following conditions:
  • (a) A majority of the subscribed shares shall be held by nationals of the eligible source countries;
  • (b) A majority of the full-time directors shall be nationals of the eligible source countries;
  • (c) The firm shall be incorporated and registered in an eligible source country.
• (2) Consulting services supplied in part by consulting firms which do not satisfy the requirement stated in the above (1) may be eligible for financing, if the total man-months supplied by such firms account for less than 50% of the man-months required for the consulting services. Such consulting firms, however, cannot be employed by the Borrower but shall be subcontracted by the consulting firms which satisfy all of the three conditions mentioned in the above (1).

Section 2.07 Monitoring by the BANK

The Borrower is responsible for supervising the consultant's performance and ensuring that the consultant carries out the assignment in accordance with the contract. Without assuming the responsibilities of the Borrower or the consultant, the BANK may monitor the work as necessary in order to satisfy itself that it is being carried out in accordance with appropriate standards and is based on acceptable data. As appropriate, the BANK may take part in discussions between the Borrower and the consultant. However, the BANK shall not be liable in any way for the implementation of the Project by reason of such monitoring or participation in discussions. Neither the Borrower nor the consultant shall be released from any responsibility for the Project by reason of the BANK's monitoring or participation in discussion. This provision shall be clearly stated in the agreement between the Borrower and the consultant.