PRF for Tripura (Tourism Component) PRF-TRI/TTDCL/PDMC-02

Outline Terms of Reference (TOR) for inviting the Expression of Interest (EOI) for
the Recruitment of Consulting Firm (National) as Project Design and Management
Consultant (PDMC)for Tourism Development Component of State of Tripura under
Project Readiness Financing (PRF) Facility of Asian Development Bank

I. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

1. The Government of Tripura (GoT), has applied for financial assistance through the
Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India under the project
readiness financing (PRF) facility from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the form of a
“loan” toward the purpose of project readiness financing (PRF) for improving readiness of
(a) urban; and (b) tourism development, in the State of Tripura. This document relates to
tourism development component’s PRF for the State of Tripura.

2. The key objectives towards preparation of investment-ready tourism infrastructure

projects through PRF are: (i) strategic planning and prioritization of tourism development
projects;(ii) facilitate improved project readiness, through feasibility studies, detailed project
reports (DPRs), and other project preparation activities; and (iii) strengthen institutional capacity
of Tripura Tourism Development Corporation Limited (TTDCL)/Department of Tourism (DoT),
GoT, to plan, develop, implement, and manage projects.

II. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

3. The State of Tripura, is located in northeastern India. The state’s economy is

characterized by geographical isolation, high rate of poverty, low per-capita income, low capital
formation, inadequate infrastructural facilities, communication bottleneck, inadequate use of
forest and mineral resources, low progress in industrial field, and high unemployment.1 Due to
lack of availability of markets, very high transportation cost and remote location, the traditional
economic models based on agriculture industry or manufacturing sector are not successful in
Tripura. Further the revenue generation of Tripura is low, and like other northeastern states,
economy of Tripura depends mainly on the central assistance. Low availability of infrastructure
has made the process of economic development and decentralization extremely difficult in the
State of Tripura.

4. The Tripura state, due to its unique location, has significant potential for tourism. It is the
only north eastern state that has royal palaces and offers to the visitors, the grandeur of
palaces. Large part of the state is covered with forests, hence visitors can enjoy the scenic
beauty with a variety of flora and fauna. Traditionally, the state has been rich in culture,
traditional art/artifacts/handicrafts, music, fairs and festivals, and offers diversity in both among
the tribal and non-tribal cultures, including diverse natural-, archeological- and built-heritage.
The unique sites like,Unakoti–world’s largest bas relief structure, Chabimura–rock cut carvings
on the hillock along the banks of river Gomati, Dumbur lake–a large lake with about 40 small
islets, etc., have strong potential to attract the visitors to this state. However, with the growth of
tourism sector in an unorganized manner and an inadequate development of tourist
destinationshas constrained the tourism economy in exploring its full potential. For effective
contribution of tourism sector to the state’s economy, planned development of tourist
destinations, development of various tourism products, improved road connectivity, adequate
tourist amenities, tourist transport, intensive marketing and promotion, etc., are the prerequisite.
1
Government of Tripura, Directorate of Economics & Statistics Planning (Statistics) Department. 2017. Economic
Review of Tripura 2017-18. Agartala.

PMU/TTDCL, Government of Tripura 1

PRF for Tripura (Tourism Component) PRF-TRI/TTDCL/PDMC-02

5. This tourism development component under the PRF loan for GoT would be supported
and implemented through the procurement of a proposed consulting services package, herein
after referred to as “project design and management consultant (PDMC).”The indicative flow
chart of the work process for PDMC assignment is in Attachment 1.

III. SCOPE OF SERVICES

6. The consultants recruited under the PRF, in close coordination with TTDCL/DoT and
ADB, will deliver PRF loan outputs: (i) tourism strategy, action plans, and investment plans;
(ii) feasibility studies, due diligence and detailed engineering designs for priority tourism
destinations/projects; and (iii) institutional capacity development.

7. The scope of services would cover project components of: (i) improved connectivity with
universal access to tourist destinations; (ii) improvement of tourist destinations, basic
infrastructure development, safety, security, and destination management; (iii) development of
tourism circuits and various tourism products (based on various thrust areas of tourism
prioritized, including border tourism; (iv) development of tourist amenities, including wayside
amenities; (v) tourism marketing and promotion, including promoting public private partnerships;
and (vi) institutional strengthening/capacity building, including skill development and capacity
building of local communities.The broad terms of reference of PDMC assignment comprises of
the following, but is not limited to:
(i) assist the executing agency(EA) and implementing agency (IA) in overall
management of the PRF work under tourism development component, through a
management information system developed/managed at project management
unit (PMU)-level covering project performance monitoring system and financial
management system aspects;
(ii) review any existing information of state-/region-/sector-level vision, policy and/or
strategy papers, northeastern region tourism master plan, other master
plans/sector plans, etc., to strengthen the vision/policy and translate such
information into developing the operationalization system of such vision/policies
through tourism strategy, action plan, and investment plan and phasing; and
prepare a prioritization matrix/subproject selection criteria, undertake pre-
feasibility studies, and based on such criteria arrive at a list of prioritized
destinations/subprojects with their work components to be covered under PRF;
(iii) for relevant prioritized subprojects conduct feasibility studies, and/or prepare
conceptual design/sector plans, etc., prior to preparation of DPRs;
(iv) conduct all necessary surveys/investigations for prioritized subprojects, and
create a database/information repository;
(v) prepare comprehensive DPRs, bidding documents, including detailed economic
and financial analysis, initial environmental examination, due diligence report/
resettlement plan, indigenous peoples plan, climate risk and vulnerability
assessment, gender action plan, or other such documentation as may be
required to access ADB/donor funding2;
(vi) assist EA/IA in bid process management, bid evaluation and procurement
processing for selection of Contractors for subproject contract packages;
(vii) support EA/IA in tourism product marketing and promotion strategies, and
strengthening strategies for investor facilitation, including promoting public
private partnerships; and

2
All reports shall be prepared in ADB accepted formats and shall comply with the ADB approval requirements.

PMU/TTDCL, Government of Tripura 2

PRF for Tripura (Tourism Component) PRF-TRI/TTDCL/PDMC-02

(viii) conduct a review of institutional structure in the tourism sector and identify
measures for introducing institutional reforms, capacity building and
strengthening organisational effectiveness for concerned stakeholder agencies in
the tourism sector to plan, develop, implement, and manage projects as well as
such tourism assets, including skills development and emphasis on involvement
and empowerment of local communities.

III. EXPERTS REQUIRED

8. For the PDMC, a total of 397 person-months including 97person-months of national key
experts; and 300 person-months of support staff would be required to be mobilized by the
consulting firm during the assignment under PRF loan for the tourism development component.
The indicative team composition of PDMC covering key experts is in table1.

Table 1: Indicative Team Composition of Key Experts

S. Input in Input
Expertise Positions
No. PM* Requirements
1 Tourism Development Expert (Team Leader) 1 22 Full-Time
2 Infrastructure Expert (Deputy Team Leader) 1 18 Intermittent
3 Tourism Marketing and Promotion Expert 1 6 Intermittent
4 Public Private Partnership (PPP) Expert 1 6 Intermittent
5 Architect / Urban Designer / Conservation Architect 1 9 Intermittent
6 Climate and Disaster Risk Resilience Expert 1 4 Intermittent
7 Institutional Development Expert 1 6 Intermittent
8 Procurement Expert 1 4 Intermittent
9 Environment Safeguards Expert 1 6 Intermittent
10 Social Safeguards Expert 1 6 Intermittent
11 Gender Expert 1 3 Intermittent
12 Financial Management Expert 1 4 Intermittent
13 Economist 1 3 Intermittent
Sub-Total 13 97
PM = person months

IV. OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

A. General Requirements

9. The interested firms/organizations should submit their EOI on ADB Consultant

Management System (CMS) website (http://cms.adb.org/). The details of terms of reference
(TOR) for EOI can be accessed by the interested firms/organizations online at ADB CMS
website under ‘Consulting Opportunities’ section. EOIs submitted in other than the EOI standard
template online will be considered as non-responsive, and will not be evaluated. The project
reference sheets to be filled-in and provided as EOI attachments, is at Attachment 2. EOI
standard template can be downloaded for reference from ADB website:
<https://www.adb.org/documents/recruitment-firms-individual-consultants-executing-agencies>

PMU/TTDCL, Government of Tripura 3

PRF for Tripura (Tourism Component) PRF-TRI/TTDCL/PDMC-02

10. For the proposed PDMC, a qualified and experienced national consulting firm is to be
procured on quality- and cost-based selection (QCBS) method with quality-cost ratio of 80:20, to
ensure high quality of technical outputs by following ADB procurement policies and
regulations.3The PDMC will work in close coordination with the designated personnel of
stakeholders: (i) DoT, GoT; (ii) IA–TTDCL; (iii) central agencies like North Eastern Council,
Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Ministry of Tourism, etc.; (iv) other
stakeholders like, district authorities/local bodies/local community-based organizations; and (v)
the ADB.

11. PDMC would be financed under the PRF loan during the initial three (3) years of
duration for PRF in 2020-2023. The duration of assignment for the PDMC would be 24 months
(presently envisaged). The PDMC consulting firm is tentatively expected to be mobilized from
October 2020,and will be further confirmed during contract negotiation process.

B. Government Inputs

12. The State’s EA for PRF; the DoT, GoTacting through IA–TTDCL; and the participating
stakeholder authorities/agencies will provide suitable and adequate strength of dedicated
counterpart staff deployed to work in the PMU/TTDCL. GoT will also make available to
Consultants, the support facilities physically located in the TTDCL/DoT premises for their office
at Agartala, including all relevant and available study reports, northeastern region tourism
master plan, any vision, policy papers/strategy papers/guidelines applicable in the tourism
sector in Tripura state/northeastern region, Schedule of Rates with rate analyses methods and
other related documents as applicable in the State of Tripura, maps, photographs, etc. The
TTDCL/DoT in consultation and coordination through PMU, would also facilitate the PDMC in
necessary coordination/data collection with other line agencies/departments/stakeholder
authorities. The actual disposition and number of counterpart staff will be determined together at
the time of contract negotiation process with the PDMC.

3
ADB Procurement Policy: Goods, Works, Non-consulting and Consulting Services (2017, as amended from time to
time) and Procurement Regulations for ADB Borrowers: Goods, Works, Non-consulting and Consulting Services
(2017, as amended from time to time); and the ADB Guidance Note on Procurement–Consulting Services
Administered by ADB Borrowers (June 2018, as amended from time to time).

PMU/TTDCL, Government of Tripura 4

 Attachment 1: Indicative Flow Chart of Work Process for PDMC Assignment

State/NEC/GoI prepared NER Tourism Master ADB Study Reports (SASEC Other Stakeholder
Vision/Policies and/or Plan, GoT prepared /NEEC)/other destination Agencies’ prepared
Strategy Papers/Sector Concept Notes/Feasibility and subproject selection Concept Papers/
Plans, etc. Studies/DPRs etc. criteria by GoT Plans/DPRs, etc.

Strengthen tourism vision/policy and operationalize through process of tourism

strategy/action- and investment-plans; prioritization framework/selection criteria

Identify availability of land with

Review and prepare a longlist of potential subprojects; andprepare a shortlist clear–title, site or ROW/ensure
and identify/review/prioritize destinations/subprojects with tentative phasing all no-objection and necessary
clearances obtained

Undertake pre-feasibility studies/feasibility studies/conceptual design/sector planning, etc., as felt required

Prepare DPRs/strengthen existing feasibility study(ies), Identify data gap, and conduct necessary
DPRs, etc. complete in all respects with detailed surveys/investigations to acquire desired data
supporting documentation, as applicable
 Economic and financial analysis
 Initial poverty and social analysis/summary poverty
reduction and social strategy National standards/international standards and/or
 IEE/EIA, comprehensive EMP best practices/donor agency requirements (e.g.
 RP/DDR, IPP safeguards, climate change and disaster risk
 HSMP resilience, etc.)
 GAP, etc.

ADB SBDs and/or FIDIC–harmonized construction

Prepare bidding documents contract document for MDB use

Provide project processing support

ADB/donor agency policies and guidelines
 Support procurement processing
 Facilitate the ensuing loan/project processing,
including prioritizing and phasing investments
 DMF preparation/Baseline measurement

Overall project Institutional review/ Complemented and guided by State/Central

management activities for strengthening/capacity Agencies/ADB KSTA Support
PDMC assignment building activities

Data/information support to be referred to PDMC tasks/activities

ADB = Asian Development Bank, DDR = due diligence report, DMF = design and monitoring framework, DPR = detailed project
report, EIA = environmental impact assessment, EMP = environmental management plan, FIDIC = International Federation of
Consulting Engineers, GAP = gender action plan, GIS = geographic information system, GoI = Government of India, GoT=
Government of Tripura, HSMP = health and safety management plan, IEE = initial environmental examination, IPP = indigenous
peoples plan, KSTA = knowledge support technical assistance, MDB = multilateral development bank, NEC = North Eastern
Council, NEEC = North East Economic Corridor, NER = northeastern region, PDMC = project design and management consultant,
PRF = project readiness financing, ROW = right of way, RP = resettlement plan, SASEC = South Asia Subregional Economic
Cooperation, SBD= standard bidding document

PMU/TTDCL, Government of Tripura 5

 Attachment 2: Project Reference Sheets
[Using the format below, provide information on each assignments for which your firm, and each joint
venture partner or sub-consultant for this assignment, was legally contracted either individually as an
entity or as one of the major companies within a joint venture or sub-consultancy, for carrying out
consulting services similar to the ones requested under this assignment. Use a maximum of 10 pages
indicating 10 reference projects from last 10 years.]
Project or Assignment
Name/Title :
Location within
Country Location:
Country:
Duration of
Approx. Value of the
Assignment (in
Contract (in $/ €/ INR):
months):
Name of the Client:
Address and Contact
Details of the Client:

Participation (
 As Lead Firm  As Associate Firm  As an Individual
applicable):
Approx. Value of the Services Provided
Total No. of Person-
by your Firm under the Contract (in $/€
Months of the Assignment:
/INR):
End Date of
Start Date of Assignment:
Assignment:
Name of Joint Venture Partner or Associates, if any: No of Professional Person-Months provided
by JV Partner/Associates:

Name of senior regular full-time employees of your

firm involved and functions performed (indicate most
significant profiles such as Project Director/
Coordinator, Team Leader):
Narrative Description of Project/ Assignment:

Description of Actual Services Provided in the Assignment:

Name of the Firm/Entity:

Signature of the Name of
Authorized Representative:
Representative of the
Firm: Designation: