Monthly Progress Report: A-E Services to Support Infrastructure Related Programming in Solomon Islands, January 2021

The activity's purpose is to develop local economies in Malaita at a community level to support further growth at the provincial and national levels and drive expansion of market access and supporting infrastructure. Interventions under SCALE will support the following objectives: enabling environment for trade and investment improved, agribusiness sector strengthened and expanded, and improved natural resource governance with a focus on the forestry sector. The SCALE-A&E contract is to acquire qualified architectural and engineering services in support of SCALE, particularly objective b. In general, SCALE-A&E will complete analyses, feasibility studies, design, and construction oversight of small-scale infrastructure at approximately 10-20 sites that will accomplish these objectives. The contract includes four tasks: providing sectoral analyses, planning, and draft design standards; completing concept and pre-feasibility studies for NTC and related infrastructure; providing transaction advisory services for host country infrastructure development; and completing planning, feasibility studies, cost estimates, and preliminary designs for small-scale agribusiness infrastructure. Progress to date includes local consultant team engagement, data collection and analysis, and other activities. The local consultant team has drafted an Inception Report and Detailed Work Plan, engaged with Malaita Provincial Secretary and chief provincial planning officer, and tasked a local consultant with gathering background information. Data collection and analysis are ongoing, with the team continuing to develop stakeholder contacts, extracting and assimilating specific data from various documents, and progressing the pre-screening framework for analyzing existing proposed infrastructure projects in Malaita. Challenges faced by the team include traveling around Honiara, growing start-up demands on the small Honiara team, internal recruitment and procurement process delays, registering in the Solomon Islands, transferring operational funds, hiring consultants, and COVID-19 travel restrictions. The team is working to address these challenges, including obtaining a transport operative, recruiting in-country experts, and finding a route around difficulties with opening a bank account. The SCALE activity is expected to continue with planned activities, including scheduling joint meetings with WB/USAID and GPTech, continuing stakeholder outreach, coordinating with the provincial government of Malaita for a February workshop, and developing an information system and GIS scoping, design, and piloting. The activity will also develop an online platform to access data and communicate progress, a promotional plan to ensure consistent messaging, and screen further offices for long-term office accommodation.