INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT PROCUREMENT NOTICE
Duty station:
Yerevan, Armenia
Contract Type:
Individual Contract (IC) (up to 60 workdays)
Post Title:
Local Consultant – Civil Engineer
Project title:
“Elimination of Obsolete Pesticide Stockpiles and Addressing POPs
Contaminated Sites within a Sound Chemicals Management Framework
in Armenia” UNDP-GEF full-sized Project
Project Duration:
2015 - 2019
Starting Date:
February 1, 2016
Period of
assignment/services:
6 months: 1 February – 31 July, 2016
BACKGROUND:
The objective of the Project is to protect human health and the environment globally as well as locally
through elimination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and obsolete pesticide (OPs) stockpiles, and
addressing associated contaminated sites within an environmentally sound chemicals (ESC)
management framework. The Project, coordinated jointly by the Ministry of Nature Protection and by
the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations, will meet this objective by
eliminating a large POPs pesticide burial site (located in Nubarashen district of Yerevan) that represents
the major POPs stockpile and waste legacy for the country. In total, approximately 7,100t of POPs waste
in the form of heavily contaminated soil, 1,050t of POPs pesticides and other obsolete pesticides will be
recovered, secured and ultimately treated, and destroyed in an environmentally sound fashion. A
further 12,700t of less severely POPs contaminated soil will be securely contained.
Additionally the Project will support with the establishment of critically needed hazardous waste
management (HWM) infrastructure (located in Kotayk marz) and national technical capability for the
ongoing management of POPs and other chemical waste as well as supporting the strengthening of
institutional and regulatory capacity within an overall environmentally sound chemicals (ESC)
management framework.
SCOPE OF WORK:
Under overall guidance of the Environmental Governance Programme Analyst and the direct supervision
of the Project Coordinator and technical leadership of the Project Technical Task Leader, and in close
cooperation with the Project’s International Adviser, the Project Civil Engineer’s responsibility is to
contribute to ensuring that the Project produces the results to the required quality and technical
standard and within the specified time.
Consistent with the above reflected Project’s general scope (for initial awareness the detailed
Nubarashen site description is attached as annex to the TOR), the Civil Engineer will contribute to the
development of technical specifications for civil works design, bid evaluation, coordination of work with
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technical specialists of the executive agencies to achieve most effective and affordable technological
solutions.
The local civil engineer will be responsible for the following activities (which may vary to some
reasonable extend depending on ad hoc/contingent needs) in support of the overall Project
implementation:
SPECIFIC DUTIES:
- Review and advise applicable national and international standards, norms and legal requirements for onsite civil works pertaining to persistent organic pollutant (organochlorine pesticides) hazardous waste
(HW) and obsolete pesticides, and contaminated soil excavation, segregation/packaging and
transportation;
- Review existing reports and other materials on Nubarashen burial site assessment, conduct verification
site visits and examine existing conditions and structures to advise on major needs and gaps per specified
civil/engineering works, provide recommendations on related basic infrastructure requirements and site
safeguarding with respect to planned operations on site;
- Contribute to finalizing of TOR/RFP for Nubarashen site geotechnical/hydrological stabilization and
earthworks design, and site assessment for conducting civil works, and be in charge of site supervision
during the assessment/design phase field works;
- Support the Project’s international consultant in the development of a tender documentation package,
specifically the technical specifications, requirements and evaluation, contribute to the selection process
of a qualified specialized company with international experience in site assessment/design, and
associated various civil works (excavation, construction, geotechnical and hydro-technical);
- Identify and reveal civil-engineering technical requirements to be respectively applied by the Project
contracted design company for Nubarashen burial site HW management operation for the Project subject
works according to and in compliance with international environmental, health and safety (EHS)
standards, and national regulations;
- Recommend on defining and overall planning of the necessary and rational adjacent construction site
infrastructure to meet requirements of civil works and EHS (security point, guard house, auxiliary space
for workers, shower units, depot/on-site storage facility for excavated materials, packaging platform,
etc.);
- Study and propose/justify areas/locations for deployment of facilities and machinery for further
hazardous waste handling on-site operations, in a close collaboration with relevant authorities facilitate
issuance of order by Yerevan Municipality on Nubarashen site land identification and permit for the design
and further Project subject civil works;
- Review the existing drawings and calculations for the Kotayk national HW management site development,
conduct verification visits to the site and examine existing conditions and structures, provide
recommendations on best available technologies and relevance to international standards for the
development of the facility as a national HW storehouse/management facility and support with cost
estimation analysis (perform simulative costing exercise);
- Support the Project’s international consultant in the development of a tender documentation package
(RFP), specifically the technical specifications, requirements and evaluation criteria to announce tender
and assess application for detailed design of Kotayk national HW storehouse/management facility site
construction/restoration;
- Periodically asses and analyze ongoing design works and develop project progress reports;
- Implement monitoring site visits for quality assurance/compliance of the field assessment works, timely
reveal and report on observed problems;
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- Closely cooperate with specialists of the Project stakeholder and beneficiary organizations, NGOs or
representatives of other affiliated institutions;
- Perform other relevant duties as required by the Project and UNDP affiliated to this scope.
REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:
Academic Qualifications:
Advanced university degree (equivalent to MSc, ME) in civil engineering or related area, in combination with
qualifying experience in the civil engineering design, and geotechnical earthworks related to waste management.
Years of experience:
At least 10 years of relevant professional experience at national or international level, with 5 years-experience in
assessing and designing infrastructure rehabilitation, mining site operations, and other related projects will be
required. Proven knowledge and understanding of the national construction standards and norms are required.
Knowledge and experience in national environmental/health/safety regulations, is an asset.
Competencies:
Excellent coordination and collaboration skills, with ability to work under pressure and handle multiple activities
and projects concurrently, Result oriented. Strong interpersonal and communication skills with ability to establish
and maintain effective work relationships with people of different social and cultural backgrounds.
Strong analytical and communication skills, ability to express ideas clearly and concisely both orally and in writing;
Ability to work independently and to participate effectively in a team based information sharing, consensus
building initiatives.
Language and Technical Skills:
- Fluency in Armenian, proper technical knowledge of English,
- IT skills: MS office, web applications, proven experience in the usage of special software for construction/civil
works design, e.g. AutoCAD is a requirement.
EXPECTED OUTPUTS:
The expected performance Outputs corresponding to the above-reflected specific duties and the delivery time
frame will be defined under the signed contract.
PAYMENT:
 Payments will be issued based on submitted Output reports on performed work and on number of days spent.
 Evaluation of delivered Output is the responsibility of the Project Coordinator and Project Technical Task Leader
 Payment will be made upon confirmation of UNDP on delivery of the contract obligations in a satisfactory
manner.
 UNDP reserves the right to terminate the contract at any phase if the requirements as per the TOR are not met.
EVALUATION:
The applicants will be requested to offer per day price for task implementation including travel (limited with few
travel needs to Nubarashen site and one travel to Kotayk/Hrazdan location) and communication related costs.
Individual expert will be evaluated based on the following methodology.
Cumulative analysis: When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the
individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
b) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria
specific to the solicitation.
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Technical Criteria weight: 70;
Financial Criteria weight: 30.
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 50 points under Technical Criteria would be considered for the Financial
Evaluation.
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Annex 1
Site Description1
The Nubarashen area (GPS coordinates: East 44º 37’ 02’’, North 40º 08’ 34’’) was used mid-1970’s as a disposal
site for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), Obsolete Pesticides (OPs), and other chemicals and is located in
a valley subject to geotechnical instability (erosion processes, bulk soil movement, and landslides). The burial
site at Nubarashen, comprising of a landfill body and surrounding land, is situated to the South-East of Yerevan
on a steep mountain slope accessible by a track (16 Km from the center). The burial site with the landfill body
is a fenced area of 0.8 hectares and the landfill body, a hillock, is enclosed on three sides by concrete runoff
drains. Two deep trenches, collecting run-off water with sediments are situated 10 m down slope from the
landfill body. Blockages in natural drainage patterns created by land instability exist both above and below
the landfill body.
The landfill body itself is a hillock of approximately 1.25 m high uphill, 2 m high in the middle and 1.50 m high
at the downhill part with respect of the
surrounding surface level of the enclosed
area. The hillock is 104 m long and 16 m
wide uphill, 22 m wide in the middle and
18 m wide at the downhill part. Total
fenced area 0.8 ha, out of which the landfill
body, has a surface area of approximately
0,2 hectares with a height of around 1 - 1,5
m above the surroundings, it is covered
with a 40-70 cm top cover of clay lying on
top of a 2 mm ruberoid liner. The in-situ
volume of this top cover is estimated to be
890 m3. The quality of this top cover is
relatively clean with DDT concentrations
well below the Stockholm Convention low POPs content limit (<50 ppm) and in line with international soil
quality standards. Traces of pesticides, remains of packaging materials and erosion features are observed in
the top cover. Below the ruberoid liner is a layer of 5-10 cm coarse sand on contaminated clay layers with or
without pure pesticides.
Based on project preparation stage site survey and assessment work, the pesticides were deposited dumped
in five separate cells. Three cells are completely covered by the hillock, one cell is partly covered by the hillock,
and one cell is found outside the hillock. The most eastern cell contains wet pesticides and is a small squared
structure made of stones/concrete. The central two cells have been severely affected by the illegal waste
mining. But pure pesticides are still present in these cells and there has been significant mixing with the
surrounding soil. The two western cells do not seem to have been affected by the waste mining. These cells
contain also pure pesticides but very little mixing with the surrounding soil has taken place. Except the most
eastern cell, all other cells seem to have been made by excavation and potentially lining with compacted
barrier soil materials. The most western cell and part of one of the central cells is present outside of the hillock.
Here pure pesticides are present less than 50 cm below the surface.
“Site Assessment and Feasibility Study of the Nubarashen Burial Site of Obsolete and Banned Pesticides in Nubarashen, Armenia” project phase one
and two report OSCE/TAUW (June 2013)
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5
Heavily contaminated soil
Cell 2
Cell 1
Cell 3
Cell 4
Cell
5
Source: OSCE/TAUW 2013
In total 605 m3 pure pesticide are estimated to be still present in these five cells, the clay bottom the pit is
contaminated, the expected volume is 29 m3. In additional, approximately 1,127 m3 of heavily contaminated
soil with traces of pure pesticides is present in the hillock. Surrounding the landfill, within the fence, is a barren
area of around 0.6 hectares. The topsoil of this area is heavily contaminated with distributed pesticides till a
depth of 0.5 m. The in-situ volume of the surrounding top soil containing distributed contamination is
estimated at around 3,000 m3.
Soil layers in the landfill site
1) Top cover of clay covering the hillock
2) The ruberoid liner (2 mm) directly under covering clay layer
3) Drainage/ support layer of the ruberoid - (5 cm, in-situ area 100 m3)
4) Contaminated clay soil without pure pesticides
5) Contaminated clay soil with pure pesticides
6) Pure pesticides
7) Clay soil under pesticides
8) Bricks/stones/concrete
Total estimated quantities landfill site and landfill body / In-situ Weight
1. Contaminated top soil with traces of pure pesticides fenced area landfill site 3,000 m3 = 5,100 ton (t)
2. Slightly contaminated top cover landfill body 890 m3 = 1,513t
3. Top soil contaminated with a high level of distributed pure pesticides in landfill body 1,127 m3 = 1,916t
4. Pure Pesticides 605 m3 = 605t
5. Contaminated clay at bottom of four excavated pits 29 m3 = 49t
Above mentioned 8 different layers are used to classify the soil layers of the bore logs. Based on the results of
the classification of the boreholes the following 5 separate cells with pure pesticides are identified. The
classified bore logs are presented below:
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Cell 1
Cell 1 is made out of bricks and or concrete and probably constructed as presented in the annex 02 of the TOR
(see figure 2.89) but the lid is missing. The cell is located at the very east part of the hillock. The inner
dimensions of the cell are 600 x 600 cm. The cell is covered by a purple coarse sand drainage / support layer
of 10 cm, a ruberiod liner and a clay cover of 50 cm. The drainage layer is on top of a contaminated clay layer
of 70 cm on a clay layer with around 50 % of pure pesticides of 75 cm followed by a 75 cm thick wet layer of
100 % pesticides (see figure 2.8). The bottom of this cell is at 280 cm below the top of the hillock. The top of
the cell is at 160 cm minus the top of the hillock. The calculated volume of pure pesticides in Cell 1 is (600 x
600 x 75 cm) 27 m3.
Cell 2
Cell 2 is a pit excavated in the original soil. This cell is located under the center of the hillock except for northern
part. This part is outside the area with the clay cover and ruberoid liner. The dimensions of this cell are 1,200
x 1,800 cm and the bottom of the cell is at 285 cm below the top of the hillock and 180 cm below the surface
just north of the hillock. The layer of pure pesticides is 75 cm (from 210 cm to 285 cm under the hillock and
from 110 cm to 185 cm outside the hillock). A calculated estimated volume of pure pesticides in Cell 2 is 187
m3. The first five cm of the clay soil at the bottom of the pit, 11 m3, is contaminated by the pesticides.
Cell 3
Cell 3 is located 3 meters west of Cell 2 and is also a pit excavated in the original soil. Between Cell 2 and 3, 40
m3 of pure pesticides haven been encountered most likely this is deposited here during the waste mining. Cell
3 is completely covered by the hillock. The dimensions of this cell are 1,000 x 1,500 cm and the bottom of the
cell is at 285 cm below the top of the hillock. The layer of pure pesticides is 150 cm (from 220 - 370 cm under
the hillock). A calculated estimated volume of pure pesticides in the Cell 3 is 178 m3. The first five cm of the
clay soil at the bottom of the pit, 8 m3, is contaminated by the pesticides.
Cell 4
Cell 4 is located 18 meters west of Cell 3 and is also a pit excavated in the original soil. This cell is completely
covered by the hillock and seems not to be disturbed by waste miners. The dimensions of this cell are 750 x
1200 cm and the bottom of the cell is around 420 - 460 cm below the top of the hillock. The layer of pure
pesticides is 215 cm (from 245 - 460 cm under the hillock). A calculated estimated volume of pure pesticides
in Cell 4 is 109 m3. The first five cm of the clay soil at the bottom of the pit, 6 m 3, is contaminated by the
pesticides.
Cell 5
Cell 5 is located on the west side of the hillock and is also a pit excavated in the original soil. This cell is not
covered by the hillock and seems to be intact. The dimensions of this cell are 750 x 1,200 cm and the bottom
of the cell is around 285 cm below the surface. The layer of pure pesticides is 215 cm (from 100 - 285 cm minus
surface). A calculated volume of pure pesticides in Cell 5 is 65 m3. The first five cm of the clay soil at the bottom
of the pit, 6 m3, is contaminated by the pesticides.
The total amount of pure pesticides in the five different cells and between Cell 2 and Cell 3 is 605 m3 which is
around 605t. The specific weight of the pesticide depends on the moister content and type of pesticides and
therefore varies. The average specific weight dumped in these cells is assessed to be around 1t for 1 m3.
The amount of contaminated clay soil at bottom of the four excavated pits is around 31 m3 which is around
53 tons. The specific weight of clay is around 1.7t for 1 m3.
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