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

The purpose of SCALE is to develop local economies in Malaita at a community level, supporting further growth at the provincial and national levels, and expanding market access and infrastructure. SCALE's objectives include improving the enabling environment for trade and investment, strengthening the agribusiness sector, and improving natural resources with a focus on the forestry sector. The SCALE-A&E contract is designed to acquire qualified architectural and engineering services in support of SCALE, particularly objective b. The contract includes six tasks, with the first task being to provide sectoral analyses, planning, and draft design standards. The second task involves completing concept and pre-feasibility studies for the National Transmission Company (NTC) and related infrastructure. The third task requires providing transaction advisory services for host country infrastructure development, including NTC and related infrastructure. The fourth task involves conducting 6-10 pre-feasibility/concept reviews for small-scale agribusiness. Eight pre-feasibility studies were submitted as deliverables on December 27th, 2021. The fifth task requires completing planning, feasibility studies, cost estimates, and preliminary designs for small-scale agribusiness infrastructure. The sixth task involves managing construction contractors to adhere to designs and specifications. The SCALE-A&E contract has faced several challenges, including delays in data provision from ministries, time to create an Advisory Committee, and clearance delays due to transitions at USAID. Additionally, the contract has experienced delays in construction surveillance activities due to the tight timeline remaining for the contract. The Advisory Committee has discussed the cancelation of a considered project at Malu' and the possibility of relocating to Atori. However, this would require additional inputs and assessment. The committee has also discussed the ownership/operator model for agricultural infrastructure projects. The SCALE-A&E team has been working remotely from their homes, with the Community and Liaison Officer continuing to work remotely. The Malaita Provincial Advisory Committee held its 9th meeting on December 15th to discuss project selection and review processes and the importance of not raising community expectations. Members of the sub-contractor Bixal will be introduced to the technical team, and the Finance Director at GPTech will be introduced to the Finance and Accounting team and the Chief of Party. The SCALE-A&E team will move into the Winrock office in Auki on sublease, and the work plan of CDM Smith will be reviewed. The contract has also identified the need to consult with the Advisory Committee regarding the required transaction services related to the Bina Pineapple processing facility and the Ontong Java wharf. The recent pre-feasibility study prepared by SIG for Bina Pineapple will likely need to be reviewed.