Advance Procurement Action

Country: Lao PDR

Title of Proposed Project: Health System Development Project

Brief Description of the Project:

The Project supports the implementation of the sixth national socio-economic development plan (NSEDP6) of Lao PDR in the health sector, aiming for
  1. improvement of primary health care (PHC) in the eight northern provinces to help achieve millennium development goals (MDGs), and
  2. capacity building for health system development nation-wide.

Brief Description of Goods and Related Services, Works or Consulting Services to be Procured and related justification for advance action:

The management approved the proposed advance action for procurement and recruitment of consultants. MOH will take advance action to expedite project implementation for the project coordination unit, the hiring of international and national consultants, the training of project and provincial staff to prepare for project implementation, and preparation of bidding documents of any major civil works. ADB will not finance expenditures paid by the Government prior to the grant effectiveness. ADB concurrence to advance action does not commit ADB to finance related expenditures under the Project or to finance the Project.

Procurement:

All ADB-financed procurement will be in accordance with ADB's Procurement Guidelines. Procurement of goods and services $100,000 and above and all civil works will follow national competitive bidding procedures. Vehicles will be procured through the United Nations system, which uses procurement procedures acceptable to ADB. Minor goods and services other than civil works and vehicles costing less than $100,000 may be procured by shopping.

Consultant Selection:

The Project will require five international consultants for a total of 47 person-months (pm), five national consultants for a total of 90 pm, and architect and accounting services. The international PHC systems expert (21 pm) and health policy and planning expert (6 pm) will be hired through single source selection based on strong justification provided by MOH in accordance with ADB's procedures for recruiting consultants. The architect, engineering and accounting services will be hired through separate firms in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants using the biodata technical proposal and consultant qualification selection or least cost selection method. Other consultants will be contracted through one firm in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants using the fixed budget selection method and biodata technical proposal. This package includes international HRD expert (9 pm), social development expert (3 pm), and health economist (8 pm); and national health information expert (24 pm), health policy and planning expert (12 pm), HRD expert (24 pm), health care financing expert (24 pm), and social development expert (6 pm).

Name and Address of Executing Agency:
Dr. Prasongsidh Boupha,
Deputy Director General
Department of Planning and Budgeting
Ministry of Health
Vientiane, Lao PDR
Fax No. 856 21 223 146

Date of advance action procurement approval: 12 April 2007