2. The Government of the Republic of Uganda represented by the Ministry of Water and Environment has received a loan from the International Development Association toward the cost of Water Management Development Project, and it intends to apply part of the proceeds of this loan to payments under the agreement(s) resulting from this IFB: Developing, Installation, Commissioning and Maintaining the Water Information System for the Government of the Republic of Uganda.

3. The Ministry of Water and Environment serves as the implementing agency for the project and now invites sealed bids from eligible Bidders for supply, installation, commissioning and maintenance of a Water Information System for the government of Uganda.

 4. The WIS will consist of the WIS Portal, Hydrological Information System (HIS), Spatial Data System (SDS), Information Management System (IMS), Knowledge Management System (KMS) and the data dissemination system (DDS). The ultimate vision of the WIS is that it would provide a single-entry point for the user (authorized at different levels of access) to:\

 a. Search for the required water-related information (using web-based maps and various user-friendly tools) and know precisely what information exists

b. Access the information (whether it be reports, data or maps etc.) via the WIS portal

c. Have access to various tools for enhancing the value of these data (report generation, mapping tools, hydrological design aids, decision support systems etc.) in the most automated way possible

Therefore, the Bidder should have skills in developing and integrating distributed Information systems; installation of virtualization infrastructure servers and internetworking. The Bidder is expected to deliver the following components of the WIS.

 1. WIS Portal: The WIS Portal will be the entry point to the Water Information System. It will be web-based and will provide direct linkages with the Hydrological Information System (HIS) component of the overall WIS.

2. Spatial Data System (SDS):

The SDS is the WIS component where spatial data are gathered and consolidated from global data providers, external organizations and HIS components as well as from modelling activities.

3. HIS sub components: The HIS components of the WIS effectively comprise the database systems under the control of the DWRM. These include surface water (hydrology), groundwater, water quality and permits.

4. Other components of the WIS: The other components of the WIS will effectively be all the other water-related databases in Uganda.

5. Hardware Infrastructure of the WIS: The WIS will be a distributed system, thus, the different data sets remain in the hands of the different stakeholders, not gathered in a unique database. They will be configured and run on dedicated independent server hardware infrastructure which will be interconnected to one another via the LAN or logical WANs and VPNs.

5. Bidding will be conducted using the International Competitive Bidding (ICB) procedures specified in the World Bank's Guidelines: Procurement under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits, edition of January 2011 revised July 2014, and is open to all Bidders eligible as defined in these Guidelines that meet the following minimum qualification criteria: The Bidder:

Shall have developed and implemented at least two (2) related management Information systems of a similar scope in the public sector including developing and integrating distributed Information systems; installation of virtualization infrastructure servers and internetworking. Experience in water related sector is an added advantage. Bidders shall provide details of the relevant project references i.e. letters of certification (from clients) and their contact information (telephone contact and email addresses) of clients to support the claim of previous experience.

Shall have at least 3 years of working experience with public sector in ICT especially in designing, developing and installation of management information systems infrastructure. Where the bidder is a joint venture, one partner shall also have been in operation for at least 5 years.

Must demonstrate average an annual turnover of at least twice the quoted bid price over the past three years i.e. 2016, 2015 & 2014

Must provide proof of availability of all the proposed staff for the project signed by the staff. (Bidders will be required to use the sample form 3.5.6a provided under section VII sample forms in the bidding document). Shall demonstrate local presence in Uganda to provide timely post implementation support, assimilate well with the different local cultures during implementation, and offer continuity after implementation. Foreign bidders are encouraged to partner with a local company in this regard.

Interested eligible Bidders may obtain further information from Ministry of Water and Environment and inspect the bidding documents at the address given in (No. 9) below from 09:00Hrs to 15:00Hrs (UTC+03:00). A pre-bid meeting which potential Bidders may attend will be held on Wednesday, 24th January 2018. A hard copy set of bidding documents in English language may be purchased by interested bidders on submission of the written application to the address below and upon payment of UGX 100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Shillings only) or the equivalent to any other freely convertible currency. The method of payment will be to bank advisory form, the document will be picked by the potential Bidder from the address given in (No.9) below. Bids must be delivered to the address below at or before 11:00Hrs, February 15, 2018. Bids need to be secured by a Bid Security. The amount of Bid Security required is USD 30,000 or the equivalent to any other freely convertible currency. Late bids will be rejected. Bids will be opened in the presence of Bidders' representatives who may choose to attend at the address in (No. 9) below 1105Hrs, February 15, 2018. The attention of prospective Bidders is drawn to (i) the fact that they will be required to certify in their bids that all software is either covered by a valid license or was produced by the Bidder and (ii) that violations are considered fraud, which can result in ineligibility to be awarded World Bank-financed contracts.

Ministry of Water and Environment Permanent Secretary Street Address: Plot 21/28 Port Bell Road Floor/ Room Number: 128 P. 0. Box 20026, Kampala, Uganda