Tender Detail

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(Consulting Firms)

Country:Ethiopia

Ministry of Agriculture - Participatory Agriculture and Climate Transformation (PACT) Programme

Assignment Title: Consultancy Services for the Establishment of a State-of-the-Art Plant Tissue Culture Center

Reference No.: MOA/PACT/REOI-01/2026

Feasibility Study & Detail Design of Tissue Culture Center Project

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has received financing from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) towards the cost of the Participatory Agriculture and Climate Transformation (PACT) Programme and intends to apply part of the proceeds for the recruitment of consulting services.

The use of any IFAD financing shall be subject to IFAD's approval, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the financing agreement, as well as IFAD's rules, policies and procedures. IFAD and its officials, agents and employees shall be held harmless from and against all suits, proceedings, claims, demands, losses and liability of any kind or nature brought by any party in connection with the PACT Programme.

The Participatory Agriculture and Climate Transformation (PACT) Programme aims to sustainably increase incomes, food and nutrition security, and build resilience to climate shocks for 150,000 ruralhouseholds (Men, Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities) across 90woredas in nine regional states of Ethiopia during the programme>s seven-year implementation period.

The programme builds upon and complements investments made under the Participatory Small-Scale Irrigation Development Programme (PASIDP) I and II, ensuring institutional coherence and the integration of lessons learned across IFAD's investments in Ethiopia's agricultural sector.

The scope of the Consultancy

The overall objective of this consultancy assignment is to provide comprehensive professional consultancy services for the establishment of a modern Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory and Acclimatization facilities through the preparation of:

1.     Feasibility studies and site assessment

2.     Detailed architectural and engineering designs

3.     Technical specifications

4.     Bills of Quantities (BOQS) and Engineer's Cost Estimates

Location

The Plant Tissue Culture Center shall be established at a location to be confirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture following site assessment studies to be conducted by the Consultant.

Key Facilities to be Designed

The Consultant shall design a fully integrated biotechnology facility comprising:

A.    Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory Block (approx. 500 m²)

·        Washing and Sterilization Unit

·        Media Preparation Laboratory

·        Culture Transfer (Aseptic) Room

·        Growth Rooms (4 units)

·        Quality Control and Molecular Biology Laboratory

·        Chemical Storage Room

·        Supporting laboratory facilities

B.     Administration Block (approx. 500 m²)

·        Offices, meeting rooms, cafeteria, library, archive, and sanitation facilities

C.     Greenhouse and Acclimatization Facilities

·        Mother Plant Greenhouse

·        Fully Automated Acclimatization Greenhouse

·        Naturally Ventilated Hardening Greenhouse

·        Packing and Dispatch Area

D.    Supporting Infrastructure

·        Utilities (electrical, water supply, drainage, ICT)

·        Generator room, waste handling area, parking, security systems

Expected Production Capacity

The Center shall be designed to produce approximately 800,000- 1,000,000 disease-free plantlets annually for priority crops including banana, avocado, coffee, enset, potato, pineapple, and agroforestry species.

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) ("the client") now invites eligible consulting firms ("consultants") to indicate their interest in providing the services for the Establishment of a State-of-the-Art Plant Tissue Culture Center. Interested consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the services. Interested firms should fill the template for expressions of interest found at the following link https://pasidp-moa.gov.et and send it to the address indicated below.

The attention of interested consultants is drawn to IFAD's Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Policy' and the Revised IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption its Activities and Operations². The latter sets forth IFAD's provisions on prohibited practices. IFAD further strives to ensure a safe working environment free of harassment, including sexual harassment, and free of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in its activities and operations as detailed in its IFAD Policy to Preventing and Responding to Sexual Harassment, Sexual Exploitation  and Abuse 3]

The consultant shall not have any actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflict of interest. A consultant with an actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflict of interest shall be disqualified unless otherwise explicitly approved by the Fund. A consultant including their respective personnel and affiliates are considered to have a conflict of interest if they a) have a relationship that provides them with undue or undisclosed information about or influence over the selection process and the execution of the contract, b) participate in more than one EOI under this procurement action, c) have a business or family relationship with a member of the Purchaser's board of directors or its personnel, the Fund or its personnel, or any other individual that was, has been or might reasonably be directly or indirectly involved in any part of (i) the preparation of this REOI, (ii) the shortlisting or selection process for this procurement, or (iii) execution of the contract. The consultant has an ongoing obligation to disclose any situation of actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflict of interest during preparation of the EOI, the selection process or the contract execution. Failure to properly disclose any of said situations may lead to appropriate actions, including the disqualification of the consultant, the termination of the contract and any other as appropriate under the IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption in its Projects and Operations.

A consultant will be selected in accordance with the LCS method set out in IFAD' project procurement handbook that can be accessed via the IFAD website at www.ifad.org/project-procurement.

You can also access the EOI, TOR & the format at https://pasidp-moa.gov.et/.

The shortlisting criteria are:

The consulting firm's Renewed Registration Certificate is mandatory

Tax Clearance of FY 2025/26 is mandatory.

Must be registered in Value Added Tax (VAT).

Consultant list Registration Certificate from PPA.

For specific experience, evidence shall include successful experience in the execution of at least 3 projects of a similar nature and scope of works during the last 5 years.

Consultants may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy to enhance their qualifications. Joint Venture Agreement (not necessarily registered agreement  at the time of application) should be submitted in case of applying as a joint venture, with one Consultant identified as the lead Consultant.

Any request for clarification on this REOI should be sent via e-mail to the address below no later than 5:30 pm local  time, 17 August 2026. The client will provide responses to all clarification requests by 5:00 pm local time, 18 August 2026.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in written form using the forms provided for this purpose. EOIs shall be submitted to the address below no later than 21 August 2026 10:00 am local time (physically and in electronic format to the email listed).

Ministry of Agriculture, PACT

Procurement Executive

Block B, Room No. B2-2/ Block C, Room No. B2-1

Attn: Abduselam Ali

Next to Century Mall

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel: +251 984 27 27 50

E-mail: selitude@gmail.com

[1] The policy is accessible at https://www.ifad.org/en/document-detail/asset/41942012.

[2] The policy is accessible at www.ifad.org/anticorruption_policy.

[3] The policy is accessible at https://www.ifad.org/en/document-detail/asset/40738506.

Ministry of Agriculture