Consultancy Services for the Development/Preparation of the Railway Transport Master Plan

Sector: Transport
Grant No.: 21001550042178
Procurement Reference No. URC/AfDB/CONS/2024-25/0014

1. The Government of Uganda (GOU) has received financing from the African Development Fund (ADF) towards the cost of the EAC-Railway Rehabilitation Support Project (Refurbishment of Kampala-Malaba MGR), and intends to apply part of the agreed amount for this Grant to payments under the contract for Consultancy Services for the Development/Preparation of the Railway Transport Master Plan for the Uganda Railways Corporation. The overall objective of the assignment is for the Consultant to formulate a comprehensive railway transport master plan for the railway subsystem in Uganda, including an international multimodal transport strategy for Uganda 2026-2040.

2. The Consultancy Services shall include but not be limited to the following:
   i. The formulation of the Comprehensive Railway Transport Master Plan (CRTMP) will entail the preparation of an international multimodal transport strategy for Uganda (2026-2040), including the preparation of strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for rail transport sub sector to enhance the integration of the environmental and climate change considerations in the planning process. The capacities of the staff of URC and its related agencies will be built to integrate SEA in URC’s planning systems. The experts will make recommendations for future investments in light of the prevailing maintenance needs of the rail network, developing plans that are sustainable, gender responsive, climate resilient and immune from build and collapse practices.
   ii. Responsible for evolving an appropriate methodology and work plan which is acceptable to the URC. This methodology and work plan should emphasize:
   a) Participation of key stakeholders
   b) Giving high quality real-time advice
   c) Producing high quality deliverables and;
   Building the capacity of URC and related agencies to sustainably meet its own needs in the relevant areas after the completion of the assignment.
   iii. The duration of the assignment is expected to be maximum of eighteen (18) months.
   iv. The Government of Uganda (GOU) through Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) now invites eligible consultants to indicate their interest in providing these services.

Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.). Consultants may constitute joint ventures to enhance their chances of qualification.

5. Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list, and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the African Development Bank’s “Procurement Policy for Bank Group Funded Operations” approved October 2015, which is available on the Bank’s website at http://www.afdb.org.

6. The shortlisting criteria will include:
   i. Preliminary examination to determine the eligibility of the consulting firms / JVs
   ii. Detailed evaluation to assess the competency of the consulting firms / JVs against the criteria derived from the Request for Expression of Interest including:

   • Nature of the firm (Organization Structure and Profile).

   • Experience of the firm in undertaking similar assignments.

   • Experience of the firm working in similar geographical areas/ conditions.
     iii. Expressions of Interest in English in one (1) original and two (2) copies must be delivered to the address below on or before at 11:00 a.m. on 12th March, 2026 with the envelope or packaging clearly marked “Expression of Interest for “Consultancy Services for the Development/Preparation of the Railway Transport Master Plan”.
     iv. Expressions of interest will be opened in the presence of the applicants’ representative who choose to attend at the address below on 12th March, 2026 at 11:30 am

Uganda Railways Corporation
Room 10, First Floor, URC Headquarters’ Building
Plot 57, Nasser Road,
P.O Box 7150, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 0312 219 100
Email: afdbproc@urc.go.ug