REOI: Rwanda Water Resources Board Seeks Consulting Firms for Muvumba Irrigation Project Supervision – Deadline November 9, 2026

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION)

Consulting Services for Independent Design Review and Verification, Construction Supervision and Contract Administration of Muvumba Multipurpose Water Resources Development Program – Additional Financing

Country	Republic of Rwanda
Program	Muvumba Multipurpose Water Resources Development Program – Additional Financing
Sector	Agriculture and Water Resources
Financing Agreement Reference	Loan Nos. 2000200007009 and 2100150045153
Program ID	P-RW-EAZ-004
Submission Deadline	Monday, 9 November 2026, at 5:00 PM Kigali time (UTC+2)
Submission Email	tender.afdb@rwb.rw
Selection Method	Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS)

Background and Purpose

The Government of Rwanda has received financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group towards the cost of the Muvumba Multipurpose Water Resources Development Program – Additional Financing and intends to apply part of the proceeds to payments under the contract for consulting services for independent design review and verification, construction supervision, and contract administration of irrigation infrastructure to be implemented under a Design and Build arrangement.

The services include independent review, verification and applicable approvals of the contractor’s design submissions; construction supervision; quality monitoring; environmental and social safeguards compliance monitoring; contract administration; testing and commissioning; performance verification; and support for taking-over and handover of completed works.

The works cover a targeted net command area of approximately 3,073 hectares in Nyagatare District, comprising 810 hectares of gravity-fed paddy irrigation and 2,263 hectares of pressurized irrigation using centre-pivot and sprinkler technologies. Infrastructure includes approximately 71.6 km of concrete-lined main conveyance canals, an approximately 2 km siphon, irrigation intake and dam-outlet interfaces, hydraulic structures, pumping and booster stations, power-supply infrastructure, electromechanical systems, pressurized irrigation networks, paddy-irrigation infrastructure, SCADA and automation systems, and associated facilities.

Scope of Consulting Services

1. Design Review and Verification

Review, verify and, as applicable, approve surveys, investigations, design criteria, calculations, drawings, specifications and other design submissions.
Review updated, optimized and completed designs for irrigation infrastructure and associated facilities.
Monitor design development, technical interfaces, design changes, statutory approvals and document control.
Assess constructability, operability, maintainability, safety and climate-resilience requirements, and advise the Employer on design changes, optimization proposals and non-conformities.

2. Construction Supervision and Quality Assurance

Provide full-time construction supervision and technical oversight under the Design and Build Contract.
Monitor construction methods, workmanship, materials, equipment and testing against approved designs and applicable standards.
Review quality-assurance and quality-control systems, inspection and test plans, method statements and material approvals.
Monitor progress, quality, health and safety, environmental and social performance, and safeguards compliance.
Witness and verify testing, commissioning and performance testing of civil, hydraulic, electromechanical, electrical, pumping, irrigation, SCADA and automation systems.

3. Contract Administration and Employer’s Engineer Services

Act as the Employer’s Engineer or perform delegated contract-administration functions.
Issue or recommend contractual instructions and determinations within delegated authority.
Review measurements and supporting documents and certify or recommend payments in accordance with the contract.
Monitor programme, progress, resource deployment and cost implications; evaluate variations, extensions of time, claims and other contractual matters.
Maintain records and reports on progress, quality, cost, risks, variations and claims.

4. Environmental and Social Safeguards and Compliance

Review design submissions and changes to ensure safeguards requirements and mitigation measures are incorporated.
Monitor occupational health and safety, labour and working conditions, community health and safety, stakeholder engagement and grievance-management requirements.
Monitor environmental and social performance during construction, testing, commissioning, taking-over and handover.
Report significant risks, incidents and non-compliances, recommend corrective and preventive measures, and monitor implementation.
Support safeguards monitoring, reporting and compliance with applicable financing-institution requirements.

5. Testing, Commissioning, Taking-Over and Handover

Review testing and commissioning procedures and results and verify contractual performance requirements.
Advise the Employer on readiness for taking-over and verify outstanding works and defects.
Review operation and maintenance manuals, as-built drawings, asset registers, training records and handover documentation.
Support handover and commencement of operation of the completed infrastructure.

6. Defects Liability Period

Provide intermittent technical services during the 24-month Defects Liability Period.
Inspect reported defects, monitor corrective works and advise on satisfactory rectification.
Support final completion, related contractual processes, knowledge transfer and capacity building.

Responsibility of the Contractor: The Design and Build Contractor remains fully responsible for reviewing, updating, optimizing, completing and implementing its design and ensuring that completed works comply with the Employer’s Requirements, applicable standards and specified performance requirements. The consultant’s review or approval does not relieve the contractor of this responsibility.

Duration of the Assignment

Activity	Duration
Independent design review, verification and approval, as applicable	6 months
Construction supervision and contract administration	36 months
Defects Liability Period services	Intermittent services over 24 months
Total core consultancy period	42 months

The periods are not necessarily sequential. Construction may commence progressively during the six-month design-review period for work packages whose designs have been completed, reviewed and approved. The consultant must mobilize the required supervision and contract-administration services as implementation begins.

Required EOI Documents

Interested consulting firms must provide information demonstrating their qualifications and relevant experience. Expressions of Interest shall include, at a minimum:

A signed submission letter.
Valid legal registration or incorporation documents.
A corporate profile describing the firm’s organization, specialization areas and relevant technical capabilities.
Details of relevant and comparable assignments, including assignment title, client, country, contract value, implementation period, scope of services and status or completion date.
Evidence of successful completion, such as contracts, completion certificates, client references or equivalent verifiable documentation.
Client contact details for verification.

For assignments undertaken as a joint venture or association, the firm must clearly indicate its role and scope of services.

Shortlisting and EOI Evaluation Criteria

No.	Evaluation Criterion	Sub-Criteria and Scoring Breakdown	Maximum Score
1	General Experience	General experience in irrigation, water resources, hydraulics and civil-engineering design for at least ten (10) years.	10 marks
2	Specific Technical Experience in Supervision of Construction Irrigation Infrastructures	At least four (4) technically comparable assignments in the region, including at least two (2) pressurized irrigation projects, each covering a minimum net command area of 1,500 hectares. Each certificate will count for 10 marks.	40 marks
3	Experience as Engineer/Employer’s Representative under Design and Build and MDB/IFI-Financed Contracts	Experience as Engineer/Employer’s Representative under Design and Build arrangements or FIDIC contracts within the last 10 years (15 marks); and experience in comparable water or irrigation infrastructure consultancy assignments financed by MDBs or IFIs, including AfDB and the World Bank (15 marks).	20 marks
4	Technical Institutional Capacity	Valid quality-management certification such as ISO, or equivalent documented internal QA/QC system (10 marks); technical capacity and access to relevant modelling, engineering/design software and surveying technologies, with evidence of ownership and valid licence/subscription, lease or other legally enforceable access arrangements (10 marks); Environmental and Social Safeguards and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) with proven certificates (10 marks).	30 marks
TOTAL SCORE			100 marks

Only firms achieving at least 70 points out of 100 will be eligible for consideration for shortlisting. Shortlisted firms will subsequently be invited to submit technical and financial proposals through a Request for Proposals process.

The consultant will be selected using the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method in accordance with the African Development Bank’s “Procurement Policy for Bank Group Funded Operations” dated 2015. Only shortlisted consultancy firms will be contacted.

Submission Procedure and Deadline

Recipient	Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB)
Submission Email	tender.afdb@rwb.rw
Deadline	Monday, 9 November 2026, at 5:00 PM Kigali time (UTC+2)
Format	Electronic submission in PDF format
Email Subject	Consulting Services for Independent Design Review and Verification, Construction Supervision, and Contract Administration of Muvumba Multipurpose Water Resources Development Program – Additional Financing

The email subject and submitted documents must be clearly marked with the full assignment title stated above.

Further Information and Contact Details

Interested firms may obtain further information and the detailed Terms of Reference from the RWB announcement page.

Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB)
Attn: Procurement Office / Procurement Specialist
Nyarugenge Pension Plaza, KN 3 Avenue
P.O. Box 6213, Kigali, Rwanda