- Status
- Closed
Background
Following a request from the Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian authorities, the European Commission established the Chernobyl Regional Programme as a part of the TACIS 1993 Nuclear Safety Programme. The programme was intended to assist those countries in dealing with the consequences of the Chernobyl accident.
The programme began with a rapid exercise to assess the needs of the three countries, identify actions already undertaken and define the key priorities for funding by the EC and other donors.
It was initially anticipated that first efforts would concentrate on actions to limit the consequences of soil contamination, but, subject to initial assessment, other actions dealing with the social and economic problems resulting from the Chernobyl accident could also be included. One of these actions was to provide for an improvement in the then inadequate supply of iodine to the population in the affected countries.
The intention of this measure was to build up the population’s resistance to any threats to health as a consequence of the Chernobyl accident. Promotion of the use of iodized table salt was directed at reducing the frequency of thyroid gland diseases due to iodine deficiency in food ingredients.
The overall objective was to improve the supply and consumption of iodised table salt in the populations of the affected regions in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. This required actions in two main directions:
1. a campaign aimed at overcoming the lack of information and education of the public and large consumers regarding the benefits of iodised table salt in order to encourage increased usage of the product.
2. Improvements to production, packaging, storage and distribution of iodised table salt throughout the regions concerned.
The responsibility for the first of the above actions was taken by the appropriate ministries of the affected countries, with the help of other donors (for example, UNICEF assisted by financing a series of daily television advertisements promoting the consumption of iodised salt).
The second action was the subject of the TACIS project. To this end a pilot project was programmed to improve the production capabilities, the product quality and the packaging of the table salt produced at the existing production location Mozyr Salt Plant.
The Mozyr Salt Plant is situated some 300 km south of Minsk, between Minsk and Kiev.
A conceptual design study was undertaken by Fichtner (see contract 23247). The conclusions were that the Mozyr plant had sufficient production capacity to meet the supply requirements but that improvements were required to achieve and maintain a sufficient and uniform high product quality. Measures were required to improve the accuracy of dosing and mixing of the iodine compounds. Additionally, the existing packaging was inadequate. The poor quality of the packaging was the main reason for product damage during transportation and storage and this allowed loss of iodine concentration. Consequently, new plant and equipment were required and Technical Specifications were prepared for the procurement of the following equipment:
Lot 1: Supply of an iodisation system for the production of iodised table salt
Lot 2: Supply of a continuously working packaging line for packing of the produced iodised table salt.
The equipment was purchased through two separate supply contracts (see the separate contract summaries for each of these equipment supply contracts).
Fichtner was contracted by the European Commission (Contract 23916) to perform the tendering of the above supply contracts. Tender evaluations and contract negotiations were performed and the draft contract documents were prepared, but the contracts were not signed before the end of the contract with Fichtner. Consequently, the present contract was established with Fichtner to follow-up the contract signature process and the equipment manufacture, delivery and installation.
Objectives
The aim of the present project was to provide technical consulting services for the follow-up of the procurement of the equipment described above for the Mozyr Salt Plant.
The Consultant was requested to perform the following activities:
Organising the kick-off meeting with all parties involved
Supervising and coordinating the implementation of all activities until the setting into operation of the plant in accordance with the contractual terms and the envisaged timetable
Performing acceptance checks in the workshops of the equipment suppliers before shipment
Checking completeness of shipments and deliveries, as well as services of the Beneficiary and the End User
Organising final acceptance tests in order to prove that the plants fulfil the required functionality and performance requirements
After the commissioning of the plant, establish the necessary acceptance certificates (provisional and final) and ensure that they are fully signed by the required parties
Results
The supply contract for Lot 2 was signed with the company IPS in March 2001 with an expected duration of 15 months. The supply contract for Lot 1, placed with the company Gebrüder Lödige, could only be signed in June 2001. This contract had an expected duration of 5 months. Fichtner organised a joint kick-off meeting on 4-5 August 2001.
The Lot 1 equipment was delivered in February 2002. Provisional acceptance took place March 2002 and final acceptance July 2003.
The Lot 2 equipment was delivered in October 2002. Provisional acceptance took place July 2003 and final acceptance July 2004.
The tasks of the Consultant were performed as described above.