Government of Canada Launches Request for Bids on Afghanistan Dahla Dam Project

[GAP]

Government of Canada Launches Request for Bids on Afghanistan Dahla Dam Project
Last update: 9:46 a.m. EDT July 14, 2008
Article Link

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Jul 14, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Today, the Government of Canada announced that it is seeking bids from Canadian-based companies to lead on repairs to the Dahla Dam in Kandahar province - one of Canada's signature projects in Afghanistan. Rehabilitation of the dam supports one of Canada's key priorities in the country, which is to build capacity to provide basic services - in this case, water - to the Afghan people.
A request for proposals has been posted to MERX, an online tendering service for government contracts, to identify a Canadian-based firm which will coordinate and manage repairs to the existing dam and irrigation system, as well as key activities to support development of the agriculture sector in Kandahar province. Canada's assistance will support the Government of Afghanistan's long-term plans for the overall project.
"This request for proposals is the first step in delivering on one of Canada's new signature projects in Afghanistan," said the Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation. "The Dahla Dam initiative will improve the lives of Afghans living in Kandahar province by providing them with a secure water supply, jobs, and the capacity to increase agricultural productivity."
"The first phase of the project is being undertaken with the generous contribution of the Government of Canada whose support will include vital repairs to existing infrastructure and activities strengthening local agricultural institutions," said His Excellency Minister Ismail Khan, Afghanistan's Ministry of Energy and Water. "Kandahar was once famous for its agricultural production and a reliable supply of water for irrigation is essential to restoring a stable economy in this region."
This project is a joint initiative by the Afghan Ministries of Energy and Water; Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock; and Rural Rehabilitation and Development, and will provide significant and sustained investment for the region.
The Dahla Dam, located on the Arghandab River, is the second largest dam in the country and is the most vital piece of agriculture infrastructure in Kandahar province. Over the years, the Dahla Dam has suffered extensive deterioration due to years of civil war and neglect. The result has been a decreased capacity in the control of water flow from the dam to surrounding districts, impacting both crop production and irrigation capacity. The ability to control water flow in an arid province like Kandahar is critical to ensuring a sustainable agricultural economy.
The successful firm will be responsible for managing, coordinating and providing oversight on overall project delivery. Key activities will include:
- Repairs to the Dahla Dam, including replacing generators and repairing water valves to improve the control of water flow;
- Fixing gates to control the flow of water from the Arghandab River into the canal system;
- Repairs to the canals, including de-silting;
- Support for agricultural development including helping improve local water resource management and training on new crop production techniques.
Canada will work in close cooperation with the Government of Afghanistan to make much-needed repairs to the Dahla Dam, a key priority for the country's government. This project will generate up to 10,000 seasonal jobs for local Afghans and provide farmers with 10,000 hectares of irrigated land.
Canada is investing up to $50 million over the next three years on the initiative.
More on link

 

[The Bread Guy]

Here's a link to the MERX listing.  Also, .pdf version of RFP uploaded below if MERX link doesn't work....

(....)

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Arghandab Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (AIRP) includes rehabilitation of irrigation system capital works, repair of the existing outlet, canal head-works, main canals and secondary canals, and on-farm irrigation networks. And to maximize the benefits, successes and sustainability of the project, there are also required improvements and strengthening of government, private sector and local organizations. Institutional strengthening includes ministries and departments that support the agriculture industry, (e.g. Agriculture Extension, Irrigation, Environment and Water), improvements to agronomic practices, crop substitutions, fostering of farmer self-help groups (e.g. Water User Associations), creation of local agro-industry undertakings, and enhancements to marketing and agricultural credit. Measures addressing the gender, human and natural environment are also essential parts of the project. The needs for successful implementation are many and the path to completion is time-critical.

The Arghandab Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (AIRP) will directly benefit those who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods (more than 80% of the people derive their livelihood from irrigated agriculture). Indirect benefits will also accrue to the rest of the population.

The Consultant will source, subcontract and manage resources from Canada, Afghanistan and Internationally. The work will take place in a conflict zone and so the Consultant must implement security measures necessary to minimize potential disruptions to project completion schedules. The RFP will outline in more detail the security requirements

(....)

 

[Blackadder1916]

. . . The work will take place in a conflict zone and so the Consultant must implement security measures necessary to minimize potential disruptions to project completion schedules. The RFP will outline in more detail the security requirements

Afghan dam contractor must hire own security
Winning bidder can only expect military help 'in an emergency,' tender says
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=e267169e-b564-4479-bf6c-c793f30f1b1c&sponsor=
Andrew Mayeda The Ottawa Citizen Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The federal government has warned bidders on a high-profile reconstruction project in Afghanistan that they will largely be responsible for their own security, raising the prospect that private security firms will form the first line of defence against the Taliban.

The Harper government announced last month that the refurbishment of the Dahla Dam will be one of Canada's "signature" projects in Kandahar province. Canada has promised to invest as much as $50 million over three years to repair the long-neglected dam and its irrigation system, which supplies most of the farmers in the province.

Military commanders in Afghanistan have insisted the Canadian Forces will play an active role in protecting the dam, which observers expect to become a target for the Taliban.

Tender documents released yesterday, however, show the contractor hired to fix the dam can expect limited support from the Canadian military and the NATO-led coalition.

Bidders are warned that the Taliban has shifted to "small-scale, asymmetric" tactics such as attacks on Afghan security forces, and "in some cases civilians." Nevertheless, the dam contractor will be expected to provide primary security at the project site.

"In the event of an emergency the military will provide a quick reaction force, but close support is the responsibility of the consultant, and the police may be the appropriate responder in many cases," states a request for proposals prepared by the Canadian International Development Agency.

The winning bidder must ensure that any security personnel comply with guidelines for private security companies recently established by the Afghan government, as well as relevant provisions of international humanitarian law, the request for proposals notes.

In outsourcing security to private firms, the Canadian government appears to be following the Iraq model for reconstruction projects, said David Perry, one of the few experts in Canada on military contractors. The use of private security firms to protect projects has been considered standard operating procedure in Iraq, he said.

"This is what led to the big boom in the guards with guns in Iraq," said Mr. Perry, deputy director for the Centre of Foreign Policy Studies at Dalhousie University. "They had to protect all these billions of dollars of projects to rebuild the country, because there weren't enough troops."

One of the problems with the Iraq model is that much of the money intended for reconstruction has actually been spent on security contractors, he added.

Bidders are cautioned not to rely on the Canadian military for most basic services. "The total amount of military resources in Kandahar province is very limited. The consultant should not expect food service, laundry, postal, accommodations, or any type of service to be provided by the military."

The military will provide medical services in the event of an attack, but the contractor is responsible for "general medical coverage."

In Helmand province, NATO forces have expended considerable time and effort protecting the Kajaki Dam.

The Dahla Dam is located in the Arghandab River valley, the site of some of the fiercest fighting between Canadian Forces and Taliban insurgents this year. Canadian troops were forced to launch a major operation last month after the Taliban claimed several towns in the Arghandab district.

"It's a prescription for disaster, and who benefits in the end?" said New Democrat MP Paul Dewar. "What's our role there if not to provide security through the Canadian Forces?"

 

[geo]

Wonderful!

Doing the job half a$$ed by the look of things.
This will only result in a mixed bag of results.  I can see the contractor spending so much on the protection of his a$$ that the actual dam work is going to be minimal.... a recipe for failure if you ask me

IMHO!

 

[vonGarvin]

The Dahla Dam is located in the Arghandab River valley, the site of some of the fiercest fighting between Canadian Forces and Taliban insurgents this year. Canadian troops were forced to launch a major operation last month after the Taliban claimed several towns in the Arghandab district.

The Dahla Dam is NOT in the Arghandab district, as alluded to in the above statement.  It is in the Shah Wali Kot District.  Anyway...

"It's a prescription for disaster, and who benefits in the end?" said New Democrat MP Paul Dewar. "What's our role there if not to provide security through the Canadian Forces?"

Who benefits in the end?  I'd assume Afghans, that's who.  Funny how the NDP are crying for security through the CF, yet they want us home.  If nothing else, I wish that they'd be consistent, if nothing else.
As I understand things happening over there, the CF is but one level of security.  Others include the ANP, ANA, etc and so forth, as well as private contractors.  Anyway...

 

[The Bread Guy]

The Dahla Dam is NOT in the Arghandab district, as alluded to in the above statement.  It is in the Shah Wali Kot District.

I'm pretty sure you didn't write the RFP, but do you figure does this entry in the public document:

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is seeking to retain the services of a Consultant to design and implement the Arghandab Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (AIRP) or "DAHLA Dam" near the city of Kandahar in Afghanistan.

means the bulk irrigation infrastructure may be going into Arghandab, while the dam itself remains in another admin district?

Makes me wonder a bit now, even with all the levels of approvals this stuff has to go through before it's made public.....

 

[vonGarvin]

I'm not sure.  Perhaps it's named the "Arghandab Irrigation Rehabilitation Project" because it's named for the river, not the district.  After all, I'm pretty sure that it would also benefit Zhari, Panjwayi and Dand districts as well.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I'm not sure.  Perhaps it's named the "Arghandab Irrigation Rehabilitation Project" because it's named for the river, not the district.  After all, I'm pretty sure that it would also benefit Zhari, Panjwayi and Dand districts as well.

That actually makes sense...

 

[The Bread Guy]

Just noticed this while looking for something else - I know fax submissions weren't allowed, but this is a new way of discouraging phone enquiries .....  ;D

Contact(s)
Client Agency
  Name HUDON, Micheline - Agente de contrats
  Address Afghanistan Program, Asia Branch
Programme de l'Afghanistan, Dir. gén. Asie
  City Gatineau
  State / Province QC
  Postal Code K1A 0G4
  Phone (819)000-0000
  Fax (819)000-0000
  Email micheline.hudon@acdi-cida.gc.ca

Any word on this, BTW?

 

[The Bread Guy]

Highlights mine - shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act.

Canadian project aims to harvest peace
Canada's $50M dam project, to help extend growing season in Afghanistan, aims to transform local economy
Canadian Press via Times & Transcript, 29 Oct 08
Article link

The khaki plain is baked so hard that footsteps don't even raise dust. Only thorny desert weeds grow here now, but the checkerboard of low dirt irrigation ridges stretching for kilometres suggests that, given water, this sun-blasted land can bloom.

This sere terrain southwest of Kandahar is the target of Canada's largest single development project for the province -- the $50-million Dahla irrigation dam, on which construction is expected to start in January. Canadian and Afghan officials hope the dam will extend the growing season, make possible new crops and transform the local economy.

But behind the dream of greening the desert lies an even bigger idea: plant wheat, harvest peace.

"It's much more than a dam," says CIDA official Marius Oancea, who's overseeing the project.

"Infrastructure is very easy. You put enough security around, you bring enough workers and cement and rebar and you do it all.

"It's changing mentalities and changing practices which is probably the hardest part."

The Dahla dam, 35 kilometres north of Kandahar, is the second-largest dam in Afghanistan. It's been around since the '50s, but like almost every other piece of infrastructure in the country it has run sadly downhill.

Its reservoir has silted. Its canals have eroded.

Worse, the massive gates that control the flow from the dam are stuck nearly wide open. That means the dam's ability to store water during dry months -- and Kandahar got only 100 millimetres of rain all last year -- is severely restricted.

The dam can only hold about six months' worth of water and by this time of the year, says Oancea, "The kids are playing in the bottoms of the canals."

Eighty per cent of the province's population lives along its irrigation system. A properly functioning dam would irrigate 10,000 hectares -- about half the arable land in a region where 80 per cent of the people rely on farming, says A. Hai Niamaty, Kandahar's director of agriculture.

"The dam is really important," he says.

Within weeks, the successful bidder for the three-year project to rehabilitate the dam and its hundreds of kilometres of canals is expected to be announced.

Security experts have pointed out the project would be a tempting target for the Taliban. Oancea responds that the construction site and eventual dam will be protected by private guards and a police post.

 

[The Bread Guy]

....going to be announced soon, according to CAN's chief representative in Kandahar (via Canadian Press)...

Canada's top diplomat in Kandahar says a contractor has been picked to refurbish a derelict Afghan dam that has been billed as one of Canada's "signature projects" in Afghanistan.  Elissa Golberg, the Representative of Canada in Kandahar, wouldn't name the company chosen to oversee the repair of the Dahla dam on the Arghandab River in northern Kandahar province.  Golberg says the announcement will be made "soon," but she would not give an exact date....

More discussion here - mod squad, feel free to merge if you see fit.

- edited to change CP link to longer version of story -

 

[vonGarvin]

According to this, it's SNC Lavalin

 

[geo]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090111/dam_repair_090111/20090111?hub=SEAfghanistan

SNC Lavalin to lead $50M Afghan dam repair project
Updated Sun. Jan. 11 2009 2:09 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

The Canadian government has chosen SNC Lavalin to lead a $50 million project to repair a dam in Afghanistan that, when completed, should create thousands of jobs for locals and provide irrigation for about 10,000 hectares of land.

On a surprise visit to Kandahar Sunday, Minister of International Co-operation Bev Oda announced that the Quebec-based firm had been selected to carry out the repairs to the Dahla Dam.

The dam, located in Kandahar City, is Afghanistan's second-largest, but had fallen into a state of disrepair after decades of war.

In addition to the dam, repairs will also be made to a series of irrigation canals.

Oda said the project was evidence of how the Canadian government can work with the Afghan government and people to make a difference in the country.

"There's going to be 10,000 hectares of agricultural land brought back to its full potential and 10,000 seasonal employees and work for the local Afghan people, so this is major project and we're very, very pleased," Oda told reporters.

The project is set to be completed by 2011, the year that Canada's military mission in Afghanistan is scheduled to end.

Oda made the announcement, alongside Kandahar Governor Tooryalai Wesa, at the Canadian Forces forward operating base Frontenac, which is near the dam.

Wesa said that infrastructure projects create jobs, which in turn will reduce violence in the country.

"That will reduce the amount of insurgencies here, because one of the main reasons for the insurgency is unemployment," Wesa told reporters.

Later Sunday, Oda helped open an exhibit of photographs taken by Afghan children in Kandahar city.

The project was partly funded by the Canadian government

 

[Larkvall]

Video on the dam construction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__jvb9LJOpQ

 

[The Bread Guy]

Necrothread updated with search for company to see how things are going - this from MERX:

.... The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is seeking to retain the services of a Consultant to provide monitoring services and report on the Arghandab Irrigation Rehabilitation Project.

The project goal and objectives of the project is the improvement of the sustainable livelihood of the Kandahar province population through a reliable supply of water supply for irrigation, agriculture and rural development and related services.

The purpose of this notice is to invite formal costed proposals from eligible Consultants. On the basis of the formal proposals, one Consultant will be invited to negotiate a contract for the provision of services. CIDA reserves the right to refuse any or all proposals received. The amount allocated to this contract will not exceed four hundred and twenty-five thousand Canadian dollars (CAN$425,000) excluding GST/HST. The anticipated contract duration is three years (3) years.

(....)

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

The Monitor will be responsible to monitor and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of the Canadian Executing Agency in implementing the Dam. The Monitor is expected to conduct project visits in the field to meet with project stakeholders and staff, attend specific event, such as Project Steering Committee meetings and report to CIDA through CIDA’s staff in the field ....

More in TOR attached.