Country: P.R. China
Project Name: Ecological Restoration and Reconstruction Project of Changyuan River National Wetland Park, Qixian, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province
Reference No. and Name: Lot 1A – Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

I. Introduction
The Qixian State Forestry Farm has received a financing from Agence Française de Développement ("AFD"), and intends to use part of the funds thereof for payments under the following project: Ecological Restoration and Reconstruction Project of Changyuan River National Wetland Park, Qixian, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, Lot 1A – Technical Assistance and Capacity Building.
The Services of the consultant shall consist of providing technical support across various components of the project. It includes conducting hydrological studies, preliminary wetland restoration design work, and developing an ecotourism model. Additionally, Lot 1A addresses early warning systems and climate resilience training, supporting village tourism initiatives, and carrying out an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment to ensure compliance with international standards.
The Qixian State Forestry Farm hereby invites Applicants to show their interest in delivering the Services described above.
This Request for Expressions of Interest is open to:
√ Consulting firms
Individual consultants
NGOs
Joint Venture between NGO(s) and consulting firm(s)

II．Project Content
With a population of 270 000 inhabitants, Qixian is one of the few districts without coal resources in Shanxi, leading coal producer province in China. Agriculture and agri-food industry are the economic pillars, and tourism also contributes significantly thanks to the historical heritage nationally recognized. With its surface area of 948 hectares, the Changyuanhe National Wetland Park, located at an altitude of between 800 and 1000 metres, crosses the forest area upstream (mountainous area), the urban zone of the district downstream (plain area) and the rural zone of the towns and villages in the middle (plateau area). From the southeast to the northwest Changyuan River gradually flows from the mountain area and hills to the plain. Upstream of the park lays the provincial forest Reserve of the Sixiannao (16,000 ha), under the territorial responsibility of Qixian district. Both protected areas (Changyuanhe National Wetland Park and Sixiannao Forest Reserve) belong to the Changyuan River Watershed. This one has an area of 101,116 ha, of which 71,496 ha lies within Qixian County. This first phase included 18 ecological, hydraulic, ecotourism, local heritage enhancement and scientific monitoring actions as part of the creation of a “Changyuan River National Wetland Park” covering 900 hectares, including 460 hectares of wetlands. The project was affected by two floods in 2016 and 2021. To address this destruction, AFD provided a loan to help with reconstruction for Phase II of the project.
The project of “Ecological Restoration and Reconstruction Project of Changyuan River National Wetland Park, Qixian, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province” has been designed to not only address the damage caused but also to enhance the resilience and effectiveness of the initial project outcomes. The following strategic objectives will guide the efforts in Phase II:
- Contributing to better resilience to climate change;
- Strengthening the Eco-Tourism Approach.
The project includes the following components:
 Improved control of vulnerability factors at the watershed scale, with better integration of the effects of climate change and hydraulic constraints.
 Strengthening the ecological value of the national wetland park, with the restoration of degraded landscapes and better ecological monitoring.
 Support for the development of an ecotourism strategy consistent with the potential of the park by promoting existing infrastructure and the development of new sectors.
 Capacity-building for stakeholders.
The corresponding lots to be launched for the project implementation are the following:
- Lot 1A: Technical Assistance and Capacity Building
- Lot 1B: Complementary Activities in Capacity Building (Financed by CBF)
- Lot 2: Detailed Design and Construction Works
- Lot 3: Work Supervision
- Lot 4: Integrated Monitoring System Supply (Including Installation)
The services under this lot 1A will be based on the following tasks:
- Task 1: Support Comprehensive Hydrological and Climate Studies
- Task 2: Provide Technical Support for the Design of the Reconstruction and Restoration of Jiugou and Liujiabao Wetlands
- Task 3: Develop and Pilot an Ecotourism Development Strategy
- Task 4: Targeted Capacity-Building activities
- Task 5: Environmental and Social Risks Management
- Task 6: Facilitate Coordination and Knowledge Transfer
- Task 7: Draft ToR for Lot 3 and Lot 4
Detailed tasks are presented in the Request for Proposals which will be transmitted to short-listed consultants.

III. Evaluation Criteria
The services under this lot are to be provided by a team comprising of international and local consultants with rich experience in the fields of Biodiversity, Wetland Restoration, Project site construction (wetland restoration field), Hydrology, Eco-Tourism, On-site Project Coordinator, Finance, Climate Change, Environment, Society.
Interested Applicants must provide information evidencing that they are qualified and experienced to perform those Services. For that purpose, documented evidence of recent and similar services shall be submitted.
In order to speed up the evaluation process, it is required that the application documents do not exceed 70 pages.
General expertise requirements for the Consultant are presented below. Detailed expertise requirements will be presented at the next phase (During submitting proposals period).
Applicant project experience requirements:
The applicant shall have completed at least one (1) technical assistance and capacity-building consulting service contracts financed by multilateral development bank (MDB) loans or Bilateral Loans in the last 8 years (from January 2017 to the application submission deadline, the date of signing the contract shall prevail), with each contract having a value of more than 500,000 EUR. (The consultant is required to provide supporting materials, including scanned copies of contracts and proof of contract completion, etc). If the applicant is a joint venture, the lead member of the joint venture shall meet the aforementioned project experience requirements.
Expert team professional qualification requirements:
Applicants need to have key experts in the following areas: Biodiversity Specialist, Wetland Restoration Specialist, Project site construction (wetland restoration field), Hydrology Specialist, Eco-Tourism Specialist, On-site Project Coordinator, Financial Specialist, Climate Change Specialist, Environmental Specialist, Social Specialist, etc.
The qualification requirements and work content of key experts will be detailed in the Terms of Reference
Bidding requirements:
Eligibility criteria to AFD financing are specified in sub-clause 1.3 of the "Procurement Guidelines for AFD Financed Contracts in Foreign Countries", available online on AFD’s website: http://www.afd.fr.
In addition, the attached Statement of Integrity, Eligibility and Environmental and Social Responsibility has to be signed in good faith and attached with the application.
The applicant can be an independent unit or a consortium. If Applicant is a consortium, Applicant need to meet the following requirements.
1） The number of members in a consortium is not more than 3. Additional expertise may be positionned as Subconsultants.
2) The Applicant shall submit only one application, either in its own name or as a member of a Joint Venture (JV). If an Applicant (including any JV member) submits or participates in more than one application, those applications shall be all rejected. However, the same Subconsultant may participate in several applications.
3) If the Applicant is a JV, the expression of interest shall include:
 a copy of the JV Agreement entered into by all members,
or
 a letter of intent to execute a JV Agreement, signed by all members together with a copy of the Agreement proposal,
In the absence of this document, the other members will be considered as Subconsultants. The experience and qualifications of the Subconsultants will not be considered when evaluating the application.
Interested applicants must provide information evidencing that they are qualified and experienced to perform those Services. For that purpose, documented evidence of recent and similar services shall be submitted.

IV. Contact Information
Minmetals International Tendering Co., Ltd. entrusted by Qixian State Forestry Farm, now invites consultants to show their interest in delivering the services described above. Among the submitted applications, Qixian State Forestry Farm and Minmetals International Tendering Co., Ltd. will shortlist a maximum of six (6) Consultants, to whom the Request for Proposals to carry out the Services shall be sent.
Expressions of interest must be delivered to the address below no later than 14:00 (Beijing Time) of 21 July, 2025:
- By email: afdloanpmo@163.com
- Or by writing letter: Office Building, Block B, Xinjiang Building, No. 7, Sanlihe Road, Haidian District, Beijing.


The Client:
Qixian State Forestry Farm
Add: State Forestry Farm, No. 129, North Ring West Road, Qixian, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province
Contact: Zhiqiang Hao
Mobile: +86-354-5245147
Email: qxlyjsdb@163.com

The Client’s Agent:
Minmetals International Tendering Co., Ltd.
Add: Office Building, Block B, Xinjiang Building, No. 7, Sanlihe Road, Haidian District, Beijing
Contact: Kang Liu
Tel: +86-10-81125768，+86-13581685435
Email: afdloanpmo@163.com
 

Appendix to The Request for Expressions of Interest
(To be sumitted with the application, signed and unaltered)
Statement of Integrity, Eligibility and Environmental and Social Responsibility

Reference name of the Bid/Proposal/Contract signed (the “Contract”)
To: (the “Contracting Authority”)

1. We recognize and accept that Agence Française de Développement (“AFD”) only finances the projects of the Contracting Authority subject to its own conditions, as set out in the Financing Agreement that directly or indirectly binds it to the Contracting Authority. The Contracting Authority retains exclusive responsibility for the preparation and implementation of the procurement process and performance of the Contract. Consequently, no legal exists between AFD and our company, our joint venture, and our subcontractors. The Contracting Authority may also mean the Client, Employer or Purchaser, as the case may be, for the procurement of works, goods, plants, equipment, consulting services , or non-consulting services.
2. We hereby certify that neither we, nor any person acting on our behalf, nor any of the members of our joint venture, nor any of our subcontractors, are in any of the following situations:
2.1 Being bankrupt, wound up or ceasing our activities, having our activities administered by the courts, having entered into receivership, or being in any analogous situation arising from any similar procedure;
2.2 Having been, within the past five years, subject to a final administrative sanction, a final conviction issued by a competent authority, or any other non-court resolution having notably an extinctive effect on public action, either (i) in the country where we are constituted, (ii) in the country of performance of the Contract, (iii) in the context of the procurement or performance of an AFD-financed Contract, (iv) pronounced by a European Union institution, or (v) pronounced by a competent authority in France, for:
a) Prohibited Practices, as defined in Article 6.1 below, or for any other offence committed in the context of the procurement or performance of a Contract (in the event of such sanction, conviction or non-court resolution, we may attach additional information to this Statement of Integrity, such as a compliance program, showing that we (or the person acting on our behalf, the member of our joint venture, or our subcontractor) consider that this sanction, judgement or non-court resolution is not relevant in the context of the Contract, where applicable);
b) Participation in a criminal organization, terrorist offences or offences related to terrorist activities, child labor, or other offences related to human trafficking;
c) Having created an entity in a different jurisdiction (i) with the the intention of avoiding tax or social obligations, or any other legal obligation applicable in the jurisdiction of its registered office, central administration or principal place of business, or (ii) for being an entity created with the intention of avoiding such obligations;
2.3 Having been subject within the past five years to a Contract termination fully settled against us for significant or persistent breach of our contractual obligations during the performance of the Contract, unless this termination was challenged and dispute resolution is still pending or has not confirmed a full settlement against us;
2.4 Having been declared ineligible by one of the multilateral development banks signatories to the Mutual Recognition Agreement of 9 April 2010 (in the event of such ineligibility, we may attach additional information to this Statement of Integrity showing that we consider that such ineligibility is not relevant in the context of the Contract, where applicable);
2.5 Not having fulfilled our fiscal obligations relating to the payments of our taxes or social contributions in accordance with the legal provisions of our country of incorporation or of the country of the Contracting Authority;
2.6 Having created falsified documents or committed misrepresentation when providing the information requested by the Contracting Authority in the context of the procurement and award process for this Contract.
3. We hereby certify that neither we, nor any party acting on our behalf , nor any members of our joint venture, nor any of our subcontractors, nor any of our direct or indirect shareholders, nor any of our subsidiaries acting with our knowledge or consent:
a. Are directly or indirectly subject to, controlled by a person or an entity subject to, or acting in the name or on behalf of a person or entity subject to individual sanctions measures adopted by the United Nations, the European Union and/or France;
b. Are directly or indirectly subject to, controlled by a person or an entity subject to, or acting in the name or on behalf of a person or entity subject to sectoral sanctions measures adopted by the United Nations, the European Union and/or France;
c. Are ineligible for the implementation of the Project owing to any other international sanctions measures pronounced by the United Nations, the European Union or France.
4. We hereby certify that neither we, nor any party acting on our behalf, nor any of the members of our joint venture, nor any of our subcontractors, are [nor have been (in the case of refinancing for a Contract already awarded)] in any of the following situations of conflict of interest:
4.1 Being a shareholder controlling the Contracting Authority or a subsidiary controlled by the Contracting Authority, unless the resulting conflict of interest has been brought to the attention of AFD and resolved to its satisfaction.
4.2 Having business or family relations with a member of the Contracting Authority’s services involved in the procurement process or the supervision of the resulting Contract, unless the resulting conflict of interest has been brought to the attention of AFD and resolved to its satisfaction;
4.3 Controlling or being controlled by another applicant, bidder or consultant, or being under common with another applicant, bidder or consultant, receiving subsidies from another applicant, bidder or consultant, or granting subsidies to another applicant, bidder or consultant, directly or indirectly, having the same legal representative as another applicant, bidder or consultant, maintaining direct or indirect contacts with another applicant, bidder or consultant allowing us to (i) have given and/or give access to information contained in our respective applications, bids or proposals likely to distort competition (ii) influence them, or (iii) influence the decisions of the Contracting Authority;
4.4 Being engaged for a consulting services mission which, by its nature, is or may be in conflict with the mission envisaged for the Contracting Authority;
4.5 Having prepared ourselves, being or having been associated with a natural or legal person who has prepared, specifications, terms of reference or other documents that have been used for the procurement process in question, and that contain provisions likely to favor an application, bid or proposal;
4.6 Having or having had access to, having prepared ourselves, being or having been associated with a natural or legal person who has or has had access to or prepared, specifications, plans, calculations, studies, or other documents that have not been communicated to all the applicants, bidders or consultants in the context of the present procurement procedure, and which thereby confer us an unfair competitive advantage;
4.7 In the case of a procurement procedure for works, plants, equipment or goods, having been selected ourselves or proposed to be selected (or any of our subsidiary companies having been or being proposed to be selected) to carry out supervision or inspection of the services in the context of this Contract.
5. If we are a state-owned entity or a public enterprise, to participate in a competitive procurement process, we certify that we have legal and financial autonomy and that we operate under commercial laws and regulations.
6. In the context of the procurement and performance of the Contract:
6.1 Neither we, nor any party acting on our behalf, nor any members of our joint venture, nor any of our subcontractors, have committed or shall commit a Prohibited Practice as defined in the document entitled “AFD Group’s Policy to Prevent and Combat Prohibited Practices” available on AFD’s Website.
6.2 Neither we, nor or any party acting on our behalf, nor any members of our joint venture, nor any of our subcontractors, shall acquire or provide [have acquired or provided (in the case of refinancing for a Contract already awarded)] in sectors subject to an embargo by the United Nations, the European Union or France.
7. We hereby undertake to, and we undertake to ensure that any party acting on our behalf, any members of our joint venture, and any of our subcontractors undertake to:
7.1 Comply with the environmental standards recognized by the international community, including the international conventions for the protection of the environment and, in particular, take all reasonable steps to avoid or limit negative effects on vegetation, biodiversity, soils, groundwater and surface water, and on persons and property resulting from pollution, noise, vibration, traffic and other effects resulting from our activities, in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable in the country of performance of the Contract.
7.2 Implement measures to mitigate environmental and social risks when they are indicated in the environmental and social management plan provided by the Contracting Authority, and ensure that the emissions, surface discharge and effluents produced by our activities respect the limits, specifications or requirements applicable to the Contract.
7.3 Respect the rights of workers related to wages, working hours, rest periods and vacations, overtime, minimum age, regular payments, compensation and benefits, in accordance with the standards recognized by the international community, including the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable in the country of performance of the Contract; indicate these elements in a document annexed to the employment contracts of our employees and made available to the Contracting Authority; and respect and facilitate the rights of workers to organize themselves and set up a complaints management mechanism for direct or indirect workers.
7.4 Implement practices for non-discrimination and equal opportunities, and ensure the prohibition of child labor and forced labor.
7.5 Keep a record for each member of the local staff recording the hours worked by each person, the type of work, the wages paid and the training undertaken, and ensure that these records are available at all times to be inspected by the Contracting Authority and the authorized representatives of the government, in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable to the protection of personal data in the country of performance of the Contract.
8. We, any party acting on our behalf, the members of our joint venture, our subcontractors, our direct or indirect shareholders, and our subsidiaries, authorize AFD to conduct investigations and, in particular, inspect the documents and accounting records relating to the procurement and performance of the Contract, including, but not limited to, our internal processes and rules related to the respect of international sanctions pronounced by the United Nations, the European Union and/or France, and to have them verified auditors appointed by AFD.
9. We declare that we have paid, or that we shall pay, the commissions, benefits, fees, gratuities or charges relating to the procurement procedure or the performance of the Contract to the following third party/parties (for example, an intermediary/agent)(*):
Name of beneficiary Contact details Purpose Amount (indicate the currency)
___________ ___________ ___________ ____________
___________ ___________ ___________ ____________
___________ ___________ ___________ ____________
(*): If no amount has been paid or is to be paid, indicate “None”.
10. We undertake to promptly inform the Contracting Authority, which shall inform AFD, of any change of circumstance regarding the sections above, including in case of any sanctions or embargo measures adopted by the United Nations, the European Union and/or France, after we have signed the present Statement.


Name: In the capacity of:
Duly empowered to sign in the name and on behalf of:
Signature:
Dated: