Assignment Title: Ivano-Frankivsk Creditworthiness Enhancement Programme

The City of Ivano-Frankivsk (the "City") has approached the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ("EBRD") requesting a loan for the district heating company Ivano-FrankivskTeploKommunEnergo (the "Company") to support the rehabilitation and modernisation of municipal district heating infrastructure (the "Project").

The objective of the Project is reduction of fuel consumption and other operating costs. Such fuel consumption reduction will also result in decreasing the greenhouse gas emission (CO2 and NOX). The investment components to be financed by the Project include, inter alia:

(i) merging of small network loops due to increased efficiency and lower maintenance and operation costs,
(ii) modernisation of equipment at the production plants to save fuel and electricity,
(iii) introduction of mini co-generation plants in order to decrease the purchase costs of electricity and to enable significant increase of total efficiency of the production units, and
(iv) conversion of existing boiler houses from gas to local biomass based on forest waste products as well as waste from wood-processing industries.

The Project will finance only the Priority Investment Programme, which is limited due to financial/affordability constraints of the population. The Company will need to invest more in the future to ensure continued energy efficiency improvements and service quality upgrade.

The Bank has indicated an interest in lending to the Company for its priority investment programme, if the Company's borrowing can be supported by a City guarantee.

A Feasibility Study has been commissioned to produce a priority investment plan for the Company. But before advancing further funding, the City needs to improve its creditworthiness in order for its guarantee to facilitate the level of financing needed by the Company.

On this basis, the City is looking to contract a consultant (the "Consultant") to assess its current financial standing and develop and implement a realistic Creditworthiness Enhancement Programme ("CEP"), so that the City can offer a guarantee that will help the Company carry out its desired financing activities (the “assignment”). The aim of the CEP is to improve the City’s financial and capital budgeting management, so as to improve its creditworthiness, and therefore improve its ability to attract and manage investment finance in the future, as well as provide meaningful financial guarantees to its subsidiary companies.

The Consultant will be required to examine existing practices within the City and develop a coherent and complete CEP to include:

- clear goals, with step-by-step activities and a timeline to achieve those goals; all activities should be clearly assigned to individuals within the City;
- obtaining the necessary agreements from the City Council and/or other approval bodies to implement aspects of the CEP;
- detailed analysis of organisational arrangements for implementation of the CEP, including recommendations for organisational changes within the municipal staff, and/or the establishment of new units to support specific elements of the CEP. This may also include recommendations for the recruitment of new staff;
- detailed assessment of the technical support and training required by the City to implement the CEP, with a suggested programme tied to the overall proposed timeline;
- detailed assessment and costing of any equipment required to implement the CEP;
- detailed procedural guidelines for the implementation of all aspects of the CEP.

The Consultant will work in close partnership with the relevant departments within the City, so as to ensure that the CEP is realistic and appropriate for the City.

Assignment Duration: It is anticipated that the assignment will start in February 2009 and last for 12 months.

Maximum Budget Available for the Assignment: USD 450,125; exclusive of VAT.

Funding Source: FY2008 Development Grant Facility Window 2 - Sub-National Development Technical Assistance Programme

Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions.

Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required. The Consultant is required to have comprehensive experience and knowledge of municipal/local government finance. More precisely, skills and expertise in the following areas are sought:

- Ukrainian central-local fiscal relationships;
- financing of municipally-owned public utility companies;
- financial and capital investment planning;
- treasury, debt and assets management.

Submission Requirements: Interested firms are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest.

In order to determine the capability and experience of consulting firms seeking to be shortlisted, the information submitted should include the following:

- company profile, organisation and staffing;
- details of experience or similar assignments undertaken in the previous five years, including their locations;
- CVs of staff who could be available to work on the assignment.

The above information should not exceed 20 pages excluding CVs.

The Expression of interest must be accompanied by a completed Contact Sheet, the template for which is available from the following web-link: http://www.ebrd.com/oppor/procure/opps/contact_sheet.doc.

One original and 1 numbered copy plus electronic copy of the above information in English and Ukrainian should be submitted to the Client in an envelope marked "Expression of Interest for Ivano-Frankivsk - Creditworthiness Enhancement Programme", to reach the Client not later than the closing date and time quoted above.

Mr. Bogdan Ivanovych Bilyk
Head of Economic and Integrational Development Department
21, Grushevskogo St, Room 413
Ivano-Frankivsk, 76004
Ukraine
Tel: +380.342.55.1842
Email: uzzt@mvk.if.ua

Further, one electronic copy in English and Ukrainian should be submitted to the EBRD by the same closing date.

Maria Haugh
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
Tel: + 44 20 7338 7185
Fax: +44 20 7338 7451
E-mail: haughm@ebrd.com

In case of discrepancy, the English language version of documentation will prevail.

Note: Following this invitation for Expressions of Interest, a shortlist of qualified consultants will be formally invited to submit proposals, subject to availability of funding.  Shortlisting, selection and contracting will be subject to availability of funding.