REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

MODERNIZATION OF REAL PROPERTY REGISTRATION AND CADASTRE PROJECT

Assignment Title: Consulting Services to Develop the Concept of a New Edition of the Land Code of The Republic of Uzbekistan.

Cadastre Agency under the State Tax Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Agency) has received financing from the International Development Association toward cost of the Modernization of Real Property Registration and Cadastre Project in Uzbekistan and intends to apply part of the proceeds for the Consulting Services to Develop the Concept of a New Edition of the Land Code of The Republic of Uzbekistan.

Key objectives of the consultancy are to conduct analysis of the system for regulation of land relations from the legal, institutional, technological and economic points of view, to develop a concept for a new edition of the Land Code, taking into account international experience and the findings of the analysis of the system of land relations in Uzbekistan, to develop the structure of the new edition of the Land Code, to provide a set of recommendations on priority areas for further improvement of the system of regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan.

Agency 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 qualification and relevant experience to perform the Services.

Minimum Qualification Requirements to the Consultant:

• The Consultant must have at least 10 years of proven experience in performing work on:

• analysis of legislation, making analytical reviews in the field of legal regulation of land relations;

• development of concepts, strategies, as well as draft regulatory legal acts in the field of regulation of land relations;

• working out recommendations for improving the regulatory framework in the field of regulation of land relations;

-        The Consultant should know the international experience of legal regulation of land relations, the best law enforcement practice, as well as present-day global trends in the development of land legislation.

Consultants may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a subconsultancy to enhance their qualifications. A consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultants’ Qualification Selection (CQS) method, set out in the World Bank’s Guidelines for Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants by World Bank Borrowers (January 2011 and revised in July 2014).

Expression of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by mail, or by fax, or by e-mail) by December 30, 2021 until 18:00 Tashkent time.

Cadastre Agency under the State Tax Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Attn: Mr. Mirsaid Mimaksudov, Deputy Director

Chuponota Street 6 “v”, 100097 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Contact person: Khasan Magdiev, PIU Director or Sirojiddin Imanov, Procurement Specialist

Tel.: 998712025596, +998974442474

Fax: +99871 2738661

E-mail: mrprc5761@gmail.com

Web site: www.kadastr.uz

As part of the EOI, the consultant should include the following information:

• Consulting Firm Information

• Associations (Joint Venture or Sub-consultancy)

Present the rationale for and benefits of working in association (JV or Sub-consultant) with others rather than undertaking the assignment independently (as appropriate). Describe the proposed management and coordination approach of the association and the role of each firm.

• Technical competence

Project References - highlight the technical qualifications of your entity/consortium in undertaking similar assignments. Provide details of past experiences working with similar project authorities

• Geographical experience

Project References, present experiences in similar geographic areas.

• Management Competence

• Describe standard policies, procedures, and practices that your entity has to assure quality interaction with clients and outputs. Please state if your company is ISO certified.
• How your firm/consortium handles complaints concerning the performance of experts or quality of the reports submitted for previous and future assignments? What internal controls are in place to address and resolve complaints.
• How you ensure the quality of your firm’s/consortium’s performance over the life of assignments.

• Projects references

• Summary for the Projects listed above

• Eligibility

We, the undersigned, certify to the best of our knowledge and belief:

• We have read the advertisement, including the terms of reference (TOR), for this assignment (YES/NO)

• Neither the consulting firm nor its JV member or sub-consultant or any of its experts prepared the TOR for this activity (YES/NO)

• We confirm that the project references submitted as part of this EOI accurately reflect the experience of the specified firm/consortium. (YES/NO)

• Ensuing assignment resulting from our work product under this assignment, our firm, JV member or sub-consultant, and the expert(s) will be disqualified from short-listing and participation in the assignment.

• The lead entity and JV member or sub-consultant are NOT currently sanctioned by or other MDBs. Neither the consulting firm nor the JV member or sub-consultant has ever been convicted of an integrity-related offense or crime related to theft, corruption, fraud, collusion or coercion.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

CONSULTING SERVICES TO DEVELOP tHE CONCEPT

OF A NEW EDITION OF THE LAND CODE

OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

1. Background

The Government of Uzbekistan is currently undertaking efforts to modernize its real property registration and cadastre system to realize the economic and social benefits of up-to-date accessible information for future development. The Government of Uzbekistan has requested World Bank to support the Modernization of Real Property Registration and Cadastre (MRPRC) Project. It was approved by the World Bank Board of Directors on May 24, 2016 and became effective on January 12, 2017. The MRPRC Project’s objective is to establish an efficient and accessible real property registration and cadastre system in the Republic of Uzbekistan as a component of services of the national eGovernment.

The MRPRC Project will achieve this goal by: (i) improving business processes and customer orientation in the real property register and cadastre; (ii) creating a fully digital integrated real property register and cadastre system that is accessible online to the public; (iii) improving the regulatory and operational environment of the real property register and cadastre; (iv) facilitating spatial data access, exchange and sharing at the national level; and (v) raising awareness on the importance of real property rights.

Real property registration and cadastre modernization, including the creation of efficient and accessible systems and the functional capacity needed to operate them, is a continuous investment that requires support over the long term. The completion of this project requires years of detailed work and the resolution of numerous contentious issues that constantly arise when creating a new system of such paramount importance. As such, this project should be seen as a foundation stone of a modern system that facilitates economic development and good governance by having reliable and accessible records for real property across the country. The project provides for the creation of a new electronic system of cadastre and registration of real property and spatial data for its practical application, including the implementation of key strategic and regulatory reforms. Once the fundamental system and information base has been developed, a potential second phase would focus on the next level interventions, including supporting the use of geodetic  and cadastre data for provision of various market economy services and fiscal purposes in line with the planned eGovernment functions (such as municipal services, emergency prevention and recovery, land use planning and development control, land development, real property market monitoring, utilities management, property valuation and taxation).

Cadastre Agency under the State Tax Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Cadastre Agency) is the governmental authority responsible for implementation of the MRPRC Project. Detailed information about the MRPRC Project is available in Project Appraisal Document (PAD)^[1].  

Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On further improvement of resource taxes and property tax” No. UP-6121 dated December 3, 2020, provides for the implementation, with the involvement of foreign experts, where required, a number of measures to improve the cadastral valuation of real property, in particular “development of the Land Code in a new edition, providing for classifiers of types of permitted use of land plots and grounds for termination of rights to them”.

Also, the "Roadmap for the implementation of the agreements reached during the visit of the Vice President of the World Bank Anna Bjerde on May 14-19, 2021" to Uzbekistan, approved by the Deputy Prime Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan D. Kuchkarov and S. Umurzakov, provides for the development of cooperation in the field of land reforms and systems of the State cadastre, in particular by:

- involvement of the World Bank’s experts to improve the land legislation;

- development of the Land Code in a new edition;

- development of a detailed roadmap for the promotion of land reform;

- continuation of regular consultancy in the field of land reform.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan launched the initiative (Letter No. 06 / 04-01-03-31 / 1109 dated July 30, 2021,) to invite an international consultant within the framework of the MRPRC Project to assist in the development of the structure of the Land Code in a new edition. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the initiative.

Taking into account above circumstances, in the furtherance of the  land reform, and to ensure the sustainability of achieving the goals of the MRPRC Project in terms of (i) improving the regulatory framework to raise the efficiency of real property registration and cadastre operations, (ii) strengthening the tenure security,  (iii) further development of real property markets, etc., in 2021-2022 it is planned to hire a Consultant to develop the concept of a new edition of the Land Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (hereinafter - the Land Code).

2. Key objective of the Consultancy

Key objective of the consultancy:

(i) to conduct analysis of the system for regulation of land relations from the legal, institutional, technological and economic points of view;

(ii) to develop a concept for a new edition of the Land Code, taking into account international experience and the findings of the analysis of the system of land relations in Uzbekistan;

(iii) to develop the structure of the new edition of the Land Code;

(iv) to provide a set of recommendations on priority areas for further improvement of the system of regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan.

III. Scope of work

The tasks and responsibilities of the Consultant are:

1. to study and to analyze the regulatory, institutional, technological and economic aspects of the system for regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan; to conduct, as necessary, meetings and interviews with officials and specialists.

2. to study the status of legislation, to identify gaps and contradictions that negatively affect the legal regulation in the field of land relations, as well as to analyze the practice of applying the current legislation.

3. to carry out a detailed analysis of the regulatory framework for regulating land relations in Uzbekistan, including the current Land Code, other codes and laws, decrees and resolutions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, government decisions, departmental normative legal acts of state administration and local government bodies.

4. to develop the concept of a new edition of the Land Code, considering the generally recognized principles and norms of international law, the experience of legislative regulation in other states and the results of the analysis of the system of land relations in Uzbekistan.

The concept should contain:

the key idea, aim and subject of legal regulation;

a general description and assessment of the status of legal regulation in the field of land relations with the analysis of the laws and other normative legal acts in force in this area;

justification of the need to develop a new edition of the Land Code;

the key provisions of the draft new edition of the Land Code;

forecast of socio-economic, legal and other consequences of the adoption of the new edition of the Land Code.

5. to develop the structure of the new edition of the Land Code outlining the basic novations in the system of legal regulation of land relations.

6. to work out recommendations on priority areas of focus for further improvement of the system of regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan.

IV. Expected outcomes

Consultant shall provide the following outcomes: 

1. Materials of the analysis of legal and regulatory, institutional, technological and economic aspects of the system of regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan.
2. Review of the status of legislation, identified gaps and inconsistencies that negatively affect the legal regulation in the field of land relations, as well as the practice of applying the current legislation.
3. Materials of a detailed analysis of the legal framework for regulating land relations in Uzbekistan. As a result of this activity, there shall be also presented recommendations on priority areas of further improvement of the system for regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan.
4. Draft concept of the new edition of the Land Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
5. Draft structure of the new edition of the Land Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, outlining the basic novations in the system of legal regulation of land relations.
6. A set of recommendations on priority areas for further improvement of the system for regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan.

V.      Required professional background and skills

The work shall be carried out by the consulting company (Consultant) in close cooperation with the responsible officials of the Cadastre Agency and the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) staff. The Consultant must have sufficient staff to complete the assignment on time (this fact must be demonstrated) and must have qualifications and experience in the following areas:

- The Consultant must have at least 10 years of proven experience in performing work on:

• analysis of legislation, making analytical reviews in the field of legal regulation of land relations;

• development of concepts, strategies, as well as draft regulatory legal acts in the field of regulation of land relations;

• working out recommendations for improving the regulatory framework in the field of regulation of land relations;

- The Consultant should know the international experience of legal regulation of land relations, the best law enforcement practice, as well as present-day global trends in the development of land legislation.

.

VI.    Key staff:

Key Expert 1 (Team Leader) – international specialist in land law: with an academic Master's Degree (a doctorate or candidate of science degree will be an advantage) and at least 10 years of relevant experience in the subject area. The Key Expert will also be responsible for overall project management and should have proven experience in managing a multidisciplinary team.

Key Expert 2 – local specialist in land law: with an academic Master's Degree (a doctorate or candidate of science degree will be an advantage) and at least 5 years of relevant experience in the subject area, in particular, in the development of concepts and draft regulatory legal acts.

Key Expert 3 – local specialist in land administration, including the cadastre and registration of real property, with an academic Master's Degree (a doctorate or candidate of science degree will be an advantage) and at least 5 years of relevant experience in the subject area, in particular, in the development of technical regulation documents.

As necessary, the Consultant may involve other non-key specialists in the assignment.

VII.   Selection criteria:

Consultant will be selected proceeding from the listed below criteria, and interested consulting companies must submit their technical and financial proposals enclosing copies of the following documents:

• Information about the company (firm);
• A list of minimum 2 (two) similar assignments of a similar scale, successfully completed in the past 5 (five) years, with contacts of persons who can give feedback. Experience in the developing countries, and especially in Uzbekistan, will be an advantage.
• A list of qualified key experts and potentially non-key experts with relevant experience to complete each assignment, with indication of detailed qualifications, positions for which specialists are proposed, copies of certified CVs and certificates, and a detailed table (matrix).
• Professional Composition: Offer a team of professionals and competent staff capable to fulfil the tasks described for each of the assignments.
• It is essential to guarantee that suitable professional team of experts is available throughout the duration of the assignment to ensure sufficient field presence and regular contact with the Cadastre Agency.

When evaluating technical proposals, the following criteria will apply:

VIII. Duration of works and management

The work, within the framework of the consulting assignment, shall be carried out within nine (9) months (180 calendar days): January, 03 – September, 30 2022.

This consulting assignment will be coordinated by designated officer from the Cadastre Agency, and all activities under the consulting assignment will be closely monitored by the MRPRC PIU’s specialists on M&E.

 Reports shall be submitted to the Cadastre Agency as defined in Section VIII (Reporting and Coordination).

Expected timelines for the preparation of the final versions of documents:

1. Inception report shall be submitted within 30 calendar days from the date of signing the Contract.
2. Materials of the analysis of legal and regulatory, institutional, technological and economic aspects of the system of regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan – within 60 calendar days from the date of signing the Contract.
3. Review of the status of legislation, identified gaps and inconsistencies that negatively affect the legal regulation in the field of land relations, as well as the practice of applying the current legislation; including the materials of a detailed analysis of the legal framework for regulating land relations in Uzbekistan – within 90 calendar days from the date of signing the Contract.
4. A set of recommendations on priority areas for further improvement of the system of regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan – within 100 calendar days from the date of signing the Contract.
5. Draft concept of the new edition of the Land Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan – within 150 calendar days from the date of signing the Contract.
6. Draft structure of the new edition of the Land Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, outlining the basic novations in the system of legal regulation of land relations – within 170 calendar days from the date of signing the Contract.
7. Final Report - one week before the end of the Contract.

IX.    Reporting and coordination

All reporting on the consulting assignment shall be submitted to the Cadastre Agency in Uzbek, Russian and English in paper and electronic form. All materials prepared by the Consultant will be the property of the Cadastre Agency and should not be distributed without its prior written consent.

Inception Report. Selected company shall develop and submit to the Cadastre Agency an Inception Report, which will reflect: (a) the company’s action plan for the implementation of activities under the consulting assignment, (b) the schedule for the implementation of the plan, (c) related annexes.

Interim reports:

Report on the analysis of legal and regulatory, institutional, technological and economic aspects of the system of regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan – within 60 calendar days from the date of signing the Contract.

Review of the status of legislation, identified gaps and inconsistencies that negatively affect the legal regulation in the field of land relations, as well as the practice of applying the current legislation; including the materials of a detailed analysis of the legal framework for regulating land relations in Uzbekistan, and recommendations on priority areas for further improvement of the system for regulation of land relations in Uzbekistan. 

Draft concept and draft structure of the new edition of the Land Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, outlining the basic novations in the system of legal regulation of land relations.

Draft Final Report: Draft Final Report shall be submitted to the Cadastre Agency one month before the end of the Contract. This report shall describe (а) the Consultant’s achievements for the entire duration of the assignment, (b) basic outcomes, (c) analytical information, and (d) recommendations, (e) conclusions and (f) relevant annexes.

Final Report. Expected deadline for completion, harmonization and submission of the Final Report – September 2022.

Throughout the entire period of the preparation and implementation of the consulting assignment, the Consultant will closely cooperate with the PIU and respective employees and officials of the Cadastre Agency. 

The liaison between the Consultant and the Cadastre Agency shall be performed via a contact person from the Agency who will be responsible for coordinating activity under the consulting assignment between the Consultant and the Cadastre Agency.

X.      Language

Uzbek, Russian and English are official languages of the assignment.

XI.    Other provisions

1. As and when required, Consultant shall carry the assignment on the territory of the Cadastre Agency and other governmental agencies.

2. Cadastre Agency shall provide the Consultant with workspace, furniture, access to Internet, transportation to visit pilot sites and meetings.

3. Cadastre Agency shall provide the Consultant with all relevant strategic, legal and statistical documents and analytical materials in Russian or Uzbek language necessary for the successful completion of the assignment, and shall arrange meetings with respective interested organizations.