Procurement services on-site assistance

In the framework of the TACIS 1995 programme, in continuation of previous TACIS programmes, the European Commission and the Russian, Ukrainian and Kazak authorities agreed to improve the operational safety of a number of nuclear power plants (NPPs) under a programme of on-site assistance and to launch a number of other projects to be financed by the European Community in the field of nuclear safety.
Under the on-site assistance programme, EU NPP operators (Utilities) would maintain a presence on-site at Beneficiary NPPs in order to assist beneficiaries, inter alia, in the identification and preparation of projects aimed at improving safety through the purchase of required safety-related equipment.
For other specific projects, EU contractors would carry out, for example, research, design or study work which, in some cases, would require the complementary supply of necessary equipment.
The Utilities and contractors, in conjunction with the beneficiaries/end users, would prepare the Technical Specifications required for the purchase of the identified equipment. These Technical Specifications would form the basis of a procurement procedure which would result in the purchase and delivery of the equipment financed from the TACIS funds.
The European Commission contracted the services of a Procurement Agent (PA) to manage the entire procurement procedure and carry out the activities described below to ensure the necessary transparency of the procurement procedure.
Two Procurement Agents were selected under the TACIS 1995 programme for projects related specifically procurement of equipment for NPPs, one for projects in Russia and Kazakhstan (Contract 24309) and one for projects in Ukraine (Contract 24303). A third PA was selected for certain projects in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, not specifically related to NPPs (Contract 25356 – this contract).

The tasks of the Procurement Agent were as follows:Planning: On the basis of information to be provided by the Contractor of related service contracts and Beneficiaries, the PA would prepare a Procurement Plan. The Procurement Plan comprised:

Work-plan and organisational arrangements, to include all dates

Milestones for availability of the Technical Specifications, Contract placement, equipment delivery, installation, acceptance and any other important dates.

Cash flow projection
Preparation of the Tender: The PA was responsible for obtaining the Technical Specifications (TS) from the Contractor responsible for their preparation and ensuring that they have been endorsed by the Beneficiary, the EC and any other body involved in the TS endorsement such as TPEG or JRC.
The PA then had to propose to the EC the appropriate procurement procedure (Direct Agreement, Restricted Tender or Open Tender) with the corresponding justification, if derogation from standard EC tendering procedures is proposed. If relevant, the PA also had to prepare a short-list of potential suppliers based on a proposal from the Contractor.
The PA then had to prepare the Tender Dossier, including, inter alia, the commercial terms of purchasing, the payment and shipping conditions, etc. The Tender Dossier had to be submitted to the EC for final checking prior to launch of the tender procedure. Once endorsed by the EC services, the PA was required to launch the tender procedure, ensuring publication of the notice of invitation to tender according to EC rules and ensuring the distribution of the tender documents.Tender Evaluation: The PA was responsible for the management of the bid evaluation according to EC regulations. The tender evaluation was completed by an evaluation committee. The PA acted as secretary and was responsible for preparing the evaluation report and submitting it to the EC for approval.Contract Signature: The PA was responsible for:

Conducting negotiations according to the recommendations of the evaluation committee.

Preparing contracts using standard EC documents and submitting a contract dossier to the EC.

Ensuring all parties, including the beneficiaries, are informed of the signature procedure and receive the appropriate documentation in advance.
Acceptance/Payment: The PA acted as a paying agent for the EC by paying the suppliers from a special account opened for this purpose in accordance with the terms and conditions of the relevant supply contract. The PA had to:

Obtain invoices from the suppliers along with other documents proving origin, quantity, quality and safe delivery to the final destination.

Obtain from the End User and Contractor statements of conformity for interim and final payments to the supplier.

Verify the correctness of all documents.

Forward to EC all relevant information

Make the relevant payments to the suppliers following approval of the invoice by the EC.

The contract was signed on 11 May 1998.
Under this contract the PA was responsible for procuring the equipment related to two projects:

Atmospheric pathways monitoring system for Ukrainian and Kazakh sites – Radiological monitoring and sampling equipment for monitoring inhalation and ingestion pathways at uranium mining / milling sites

Provision of equipment and services in respect of operational feedback system– Satellite communication system to enable the Energoatom Emergency Centre to receive real-time operational data from diagnostic systems and automated radiation situation control (ARSC) sensors at NPPs.
The PA prepared the tender dossiers and organised the tendering of the projects. However, neither project was contracted due to failure of the tender procedures.