Consultancy Services to conduct a Feasibility Study for the Establishment of a National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) for Zambia — Transforming Landscapes for Resilience and Development in Zambia II

REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA MINISTRY OF GREEN ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION) Project: Transforming Landscapes for Resilience and Development (TRALARD) II Project Grant/Project ID No.: P507971 Assignment Title: Feasibility Study for Establishment of a National Lightning Detection Network for Zambia Reference No.: ZM-MGEE-562801-CS-QCBS The Government of the Republic of Zambia, through the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment (MGEE), has received financing from the World Bank, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), the Nordic Development Fund and Scaling Climate Action by Lowering Emissions (SCALE), totalling USD 137 million, to support implementation of the Transforming Landscapes for Resilience and Development (TRALARD) II Project in Copperbelt, Luapula, Muchinga, Northern and Southern Provinces. The Government intends to apply part of the proceeds to payments under the contract for the consulting services described below. The overall objective is to conduct an evidence-based feasibility study for establishment of a National Lightning Detection Network for Zambia, including a defensible assessment of necessity and complementarity, network options, lifecycle costs, economic and social benefits, sustainability arrangements and procurement-ready specifications. Scope of the Services Situation analysis and national user-requirements assessment. Development of a lightning-climatology baseline and national risk and exposure atlas. Technology-options, necessity and complementarity assessment covering MTG-LI, commercial services, regional cooperation and the planned radar network. Ground-network design, performance modelling and siting plan, including priority site surveys. Development of vendor-neutral, performance-based technical specifications and measurable acceptance criteria. Fifteen-year lifecycle cost, CAPEX, OPEX and operation-and-maintenance analysis. Economic and social benefit assessment and cost-benefit analysis. Institutional, human-resource, legal and regulatory assessment. Sustainability, financing, data-policy and commercialisation strategy. Implementation roadmap, procurement strategy, risk register and monitoring and evaluation framework. Validation of the comparative capability framework and final recommendations. The indicative period of performance is 24 weeks. The detailed scope, deliverables and requirements are provided in the Terms of Reference. Shortlisting Criteria The Ministry now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants shall provide information demonstrating the required qualifications and relevant experience. The shortlisting criteria are: At least ten (10) years of corporate experience delivering assignments of similar nature and complexity. Demonstrated experience in feasibility assessment, design, specification, implementation support or supervision of lightning-detection networks or comparable national-scale remote-sensing observing networks, such as weather radar, GNSS meteorology or automated weather-station networks. Demonstrated capability in network-performance modelling, siting, lifecycle costing, cost-benefit analysis, ICT/data integration and institutional sustainability planning. A proven record on World Bank-financed or comparable international development assignments. Relevant experience in Sub-Saharan Africa or a comparable developing-country context. Availability of appropriate multidisciplinary expertise. Key Experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage. The EOI should include the firm’s legal name and contact details; brief corporate profile; description of relevant assignments with client, country, dates, contract value/role and contactable references; and, where applicable, the intended form and members of any association. Firms should not submit a technical or financial proposal at this stage. The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs 3.13, 3.15 and 3.16 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers, Sixth Edition, February 2025 (“Procurement Regulations”), which set forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications, but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/or a sub-consultancy. In the case of a joint venture, all partners shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Quality- and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) method set out in the Procurement Regulations. Terms of Reference: https://www.mgee.gov.zm/?page_id=6753 Submission Address The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Green Economy and Environment P.O. Box 30147 Lusaka, Zambia Electronic submission: Submit the EOI with the assignment title and reference number in the email subject line to info@npcu.org.zm, copying emmanuel.makombe@tralard.org.zm and Sibeso.Mataa@mgee.gov.zm. Deadline: Tuesday, 15 September 2026 at 17:00 hours, Zambian local time. Head – Procurement and Supplies Unit For/Permanent Secretary MINISTRY OF GREEN ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT