SOLARIZATION OF A WATER BOREHOLE IN QAAQAAIYET EL-SNOUBAR-SOUTH LEBANON

Background

Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian organization committed to ending world hunger. Recognized as a leader in the fight against malnutrition, Action Against Hunger saves the lives of malnourished children while providing communities with access to safe water and sustainable solutions to hunger.

With 30 years of expertise in emergencies of conflict, natural disaster, and chronic food insecurity, Action Against Hunger runs life-saving programs in over 40 countries. Action Against Hunger's 5,000+ professionals work to carry out innovative, life-saving programs in nutrition, food security & livelihoods, and water, sanitation & hygiene. ACF's humanitarian programs directly assist some five million people each year, along with countless others through capacity-building programs in collaboration with government ministries.

In Lebanon, Action Against Hunger has been active since 2006, operating mainly in the South, Beqaa, and Beirut.

Objective

As most of the local wells are slowly reducing their operating hours due to increased fuel costs and the lack of financial capacity to cover its demand, Action Against Hunger proposes to solarize a water borehole in South Lebanon. In doing so, Action Against Hunger would be building on its successful experience under an AECID humanitarian action in South Lebanon that was completed in 2022. Considering the absence of electricity and fuel, such an intervention would guarantee adequate water supply to the residents throughout the day, providing independency from the current instable and expensive fossil fuel market.

Acknowledging the right to access public water services should be guaranteed to all residents. Following the development of a detailed technical assessment and selection criteria, a solarization intervention, that yields the highest social and economic return, has been prioritized in close coordination with the South Lebanon Water Establishment.

Within this framework, Action Against Hunger seeks to hire a contractor to implement the works for the solarization of a pumping well in South Lebanon. The submersible pump is of power 100 HP with a safe yield of 55m3/h located at a dept of 300 m.

The contractor will be responsible for:

• Site Assessment by a qualified team to locate the array. 
• Design, study, and analysis of support structures in compliance with all applicable codes.
• Design the system with a minimum of electrical losses due to wiring, fuses, switches, and inverters.
• Site clearance and preparation.
• Civil works required for the implementation of the Photovoltaic project.
• Supply and installation of support structures for photovoltaic panels.
• Supply and installation of all electrical equipment’s (solar panels, Variable frequency drive, Combiner Boxes, DC switches, surge arrestors, contactors, thermal protections, overload current protection, AC & DC Reactors, or sinusoidal filter etc.) according to manufacturer’s specifications, using installation requirement and procedures.
• Mechanical Works for the pumping Station.
• Connection of the electrical equipment according to approved electrical drawings.
• Supply and installation of a lightning protection system with proper grounding.
• Properly ground the system parts to reduce the risk of shock hazards and induced surges.
• Connection to the existing pumps with all necessary protection equipment.
• Provide relevant documentation, including datasheets and user manuals for supplied items.
• Provide Operation and maintenance manual for the system.
• Testing and commissioning.
• Training of Operators.
• Defect Liability period.

Location:

Qaaqaaiyet El Snoubar, Zahrani area, Saida District, South Lebanon. The location is subject to change in case of any obstacle impeding the execution of solarization in the said village.

Duration:

• Starting Date: Upon signature of the contract (November 2023)
• End date: Upon completion of the installation, testing and commissioning and training – a maximum period of 4 months.

Estimated workplan for the service:

Contractor are encouraged to share their detailed Schedule as part of their technical offers. The submitted timeframe will not be considered unless approved officially by Action Against Hunger team.

Selection Process

A contractor Selection Committee (CSC) will evaluate technical and financial proposals according to the requirements and criteria defined above. Evaluators will first independently assess whether the technical proposals comply with submission requirements and will then evaluate each proposal. The CSC will be composed of a minimum of 3 staff from Action Against Hunger.  

Roles and Responsibilities of the Contractor

In addition to the above-mentioned roles and responsibility, The contractor is obliged to: 

• The contractor is liable for the design and implementation works till the end of Defect Liability Period
• Report any incident or delay to Action Against Hunger engineer during the activity process.  
• Commit to provide all the requested products/supplies as mentioned above, and not to change any specifications without the written consent of Action Against Hunger.
• Inform ACF about any legal documents or approval processes related to the project.
• Be flexible
• Abide by all rules and regulations of Action Against Hunger, particularly the ones related to safety and security.

Roles and Responsibilities of Action Against Hunger 

Action Against Hunger is obliged to: 

• Provide on time all the necessary documentation, information, and contacts for the accomplishment of the service.
• Liaise with SLWE and the Mayor. The Contractor is not expected to initiate or participate in municipalities' meetings without the presence and authorization of Action Against Hunger.
• Review and validate the work plan proposed by the Contractor. 
• Provide any further technical specifications for the adequate performance of the work.  
• Ensure proper monitoring by assigning a Site Civil Engineer from Action Against Hunger who will be present in the site and to support the contractor during the implementation process.
• Organize weekly management meetings with the consultant team and contractor team to verify the work progress during the implementation. 
• To pay the Contractor according to the Terms of Payments agreed in the Contract. 
• Final approval of the completion of the implementation process.

Clarification Meeting/Site Visit

A site visit will be held on 13 September 2023 10:30 Beirut time, so bidder needs to confirm their presence by max on 12 September 2023 14:00 Beirut time to receive the meeting points coordinates and contact details.

Pre-bid meeting to be held online via TEAMS on 14 September 2023 10:00 Beirut time.

All questions will be answered via email to all bidders in 20 September 2023 16:00 Beirut time.

Essential Criteria of the Contractor

Interested companies must request the bid documents by email to:

  [email protected].

Make sure once sharing your offer to take the below into your account:

• All related cost to make the project operational.

Deadline

Deadline to receive offers is 29 September 2023 15:00 Beirut time, offer received after will not be considered.

Deadline to collect the Bid documents is 11^th of September 2023