Consulting Services for Regional Spatial Strategy in Tashkent Region

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Country: Republic of Uzbekistan Loan №: 8914- UZ Project: Medium-Sized Cities Integrated Urban Development Project Assignment Title: ToR for the Consulting Services for the Preparation of a Regional Spatial Strategy for Tashkent Region. Reference №: MSCIUDP-CS-QCBS-02 The Republic of Uzbekistan has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Medium Size Cities Integrated Urban Development Project, and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services. The consulting services ('the Services') include the preparation of a Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for Tashkent Region, which will serve as a long-term framework for urban, economic, and territorial development based on sustainable practices. Main Objectives

• Analyze the current socio-economic and spatial situation of Tashkent Region.
• Develop a Strategic Vision, Goals, and Planning Principles for regional development up to 2040.
• Propose Development Options and identify a Preferred Development Strategy.
• Prepare a Concept and Final Regional Spatial Strategy with an Investment Program.
• Coordinate stakeholder management, build capacity among partners, and document lessons for replication.

Invitation The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), acting through the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. Expression of interest should cover, but not limited to: corporate profile, years in business, experience relevant to the project activities, key staff resources, and core business. Consultants may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub consultancy to enhance their qualifications. In case of a Joint Venture (JV), all members of the JV will be evaluated jointly for the purpose of short listing and shall be jointly and severally liable for the assignment and shall sign the contract in case of award is made to that JV group. Interested consultants should clearly indicate the structure of their “association” and the duties of the partners and sub consultants in their application. Unclear expression of interests in terms of “in association with” and/or “in affiliation with” and etc. may not be considered for short listing. Keeping one expression of interest per firm as principle, a consultant firm may decide whether it wishes to participate as a sub consultant or as an individual consultant or as a partner in a joint venture. Please note that a firm shall submit only one EOI in the same selection process either individually as a consultant or as a partner in a joint venture. No firm can be a sub consultant while submitting an EOI individually or as a partner of a joint venture in the same selection process. A firm, if acting in the capacity of sub consultant in any consultant or JV, may participate in more than one consultant, but only in the capacity of a sub consultant. The experience of sub-consultant will not be considered while short-listing. The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” dated July 2016, revised November 2017 and August 2018 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. The consultant shall be selected in accordance with the Consultant’s Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) Method, according to the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” (September 2023), fifth edition. Shortlisting Criteria: To be eligible for this assignment, the Consultant shall meet the following minimum qualification requirements:

• Proven experience in the field of regional economic development and spatial planning in the last 10 years.
• At least 3 contracts for the preparation of similar plans and strategies, Regional Spatial Strategies, development programs and Master Plans at the regional and city level, with contract value each > USD 1,500,000 in the last 10 years.

As part of the EOI, the consultant should include the following information:

• Consulting Firm Information

Date: Country of Incorporation: Consultant Name: Acronym: EOI Submission Authorized by: Position:

• Associations (Joint Venture or Sub-consultancy)

Consultant Acronym Country of Incorporation Joint Venture (JV) or Sub-consultant EOI Submission Authorized By Position Present the rationale for and benefits of working in association (JV or Sub-consultant) with others rather than undertaking the assignment independently (as appropriate). Describe the proposed management and coordination approach of the association and the role of each firm .

• Technical competence

Project References - highlight the technical qualifications of your entity/consortium in undertaking similar assignments. Provide details of past experiences working with similar project authorities

• Management Competence
• Describe standard policies, procedures, and practices that your entity has to assure quality interaction with clients and outputs. Please state if your company is ISO certified.
• How your firm/consortium handles complaints concerning the performance of experts or quality of the reports submitted for previous and future assignments? What internal controls are in place to address and resolve complaints.
• How you ensure the quality of your firm’s/consortium’s performance over the life of assignments.
• Projects references

Present relevant projects to demonstrate the firm’s technical qualifications and geographical experience. N Project Period Client Country Firm 1 2 3 4 ….

• Summary for the Projects listed above

Project Title Country / Region Start Date Completion Date Continuous / Intermittent Client Funding Source Description (indicate your role and input in man-months)

• Confirmation Check-list

We, the undersigned, certify to the best of our knowledge and belief:

• We have read the advertisement, including the terms of reference (TOR), for this assignment (YES/NO)
• Neither the consulting firm nor its JV member or sub-consultant or any of its experts prepared the TOR for this activity (YES/NO)
• We confirm that the project references submitted as part of this EOI accurately reflect the experience of the specified firm/consortium. (YES/NO)
• Ensuing assignment resulting from our work product under this assignment, our firm, JV member or sub-consultant, and the expert(s) will be disqualified from short-listing and participation in the assignment.
• The lead entity and JV member or sub-consultant are NOT currently sanctioned by or other IFIs. Neither the consulting firm nor the JV member or sub-consultant has ever been convicted of an integrity-related offense or crime related to theft, corruption, fraud, collusion or coercion.

Note: the PIU MEF reserves it’s right to verify submitted references and use obtained information for shortlisting evaluation purposes. Consultants are strongly encouraged to limit their Expression of Interest to 30 pages. Company brochures may be included as an annex, and it will not be affected by the limit of 30 pages. Expression of interest must be delivered before 16:00 4 February of 2026 (Tashkent time) to the address below. Late submissions are not accepted. Submission of information should be in English language. Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours from 9:00 to 17:00 hours Tashkent time. Project Implementation Unit under Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan Attention: Mr. Jasur Matrasulov, Director of PIU MSCIUDP Address: 1, Niyozbek yuli Street, Yunusabad district Floor / Room: 3 , PIU office City: Tashkent city ZIP Code: 100060 Country: Republic of Uzbekistan Electronic mail address: mscuzb@gmail.com Agency: Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan Procurement method: Quality And Cost-Based Selection Notice type: Request for Expression of Interest Status: Published Value: 2000000.0 USD