Consultancy Services for a Third-Party Monitoring Firm to Provide Safeguards and Technical Monitoring Services

Tender summary

DIGITAL ZAMBIA ACCELERATION PROJECT (DZAP REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION) COUNTRY: Zambia NAME OF PROJECT: The Digital Zambia Acceleration Project (DZAP) Loan No./Credit No./ Grant No.: P505094 Name of Implementing Agency: Smart Zambia Institute (SZI) Assignment Title: Consultancy Services for a Third-Party Monitoring Firm to Provide Safeguards and Technical Monitoring Services Reference No.: ZM-SZ-525295-CS-QCBS 1. Background The Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has received financing from the World Bank for the implementation of the Digital Zambia Acceleration Project (DZAP) and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services. The Project is subject to the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), including applicable Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs), the World Bank Group Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines, and relevant national environmental and social legislation. To strengthen implementation oversight and ensure independent verification of environmental, social, and technical performance, the Smart Zambia Institute (SZI) intends to engage an independent Third-Party Monitoring (TPM) firm. 2. Objective of the Assignment The objective of the assignment is to enhance environmental, social, and technical performance under the Project through independent third-party monitoring during the construction phase of: • Subcomponent 1.1: Extending the Backbone and Regional Networks • Subcomponent 1.2: Supplying Last Mile Connectivity 3. Scope of Services The consulting firm will provide independent third-party monitoring services covering: • Environmental and social safeguards compliance; • Technical monitoring and verification of ICT infrastructure works; • Independent reporting on compliance with project requirements, contractual obligations, and applicable standards. The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment may be accessed on the Smart Zambia Institute website or obtained upon written request from the address below. 4. Eligibility and Shortlisting Criteria The Smart Zambia Institute now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. (a) General Experience • Core business and organisational profile of the firm; • Number of years in business. (b) Specific Experience The firm shall demonstrate experience in the following areas: (i) Environmental and Social (E&S) Risk Management, including but not limited to: • Occupational Health and Safety (OHS); • Labour management procedures; • Biodiversity management; • Community health and safety; • Stakeholder engagement; • Grievance Redress Mechanisms (GRM). (ii) Technical Monitoring of ICT Infrastructure Projects, including: • Fibre optic backbone and access networks; • Last-mile connectivity solutions; • Mobile broadband infrastructure (e.g., 4G/5G); • Towers, satellite or equivalent digital infrastructure systems. (iii) Institutional Capacity • Demonstrated ability to deploy qualified environmental, social, and technical specialists; • Proven capacity in independent monitoring, verification, and compliance restoration support. (iv) Relevant Assignments • Submission of at least six (6) comparable assignment reports (e.g., E&S monitoring, GRM implementation, technical verification, or project close-out reports). (v) International Experience • Minimum of five (5) years’ experience in World Bank-financed or other comparable internationally funded projects. (c) Conflict of Interest Firms must demonstrate absence of conflict of interest, including: • No current or past contractual, financial, or other relationships with contractors, supervising engineers, suppliers, or consultants engaged under

What to check before bidding

• Issued by Smart Zambia Institute (SZI).
• Located in Zambia.
• Source notice P505094 on worldbank.
• Notice published 8 Jul 2026; Tenqual indexed it 4 Dec 2025.
• No closing date is listed yet.
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