Recruitment of Consultant - Owners Engineer

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT SELECTION Title of Assignment: Owner’s Engineer Name of Project: Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Transformation (ASCENT) Project ID: P513939 Implementing Agency: Ministry of Energy and Mining Country: Kingdom of Lesotho Contract Type: Time-based Contract The Government of Lesotho has received financing from the World Bank for the implementation of the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) Project. The ASCENT is being implemented by the Ministry of Energy and Mining (MoEM). One of the components of ASCENT is Component 1, titled “Increasing Access to On-Grid Electrification”. This component is the primary focus of this assignment. It finances expansion of the national distribution network and last-mile connections in targeted peri-urban and highland rural areas identified as least-cost grid electrification zones under the Lesotho's National Electrification Strategy (NES). Activities to be undertaken under Component 1 include construction of new Medium Voltage (MV) lines and Low Voltage (LV) distribution networks; installation of transformers, service drops, and prepaid meters; provision of ready boards for households unable to afford internal wiring costs; and reinforcement and upgrading of existing transformers to improve reliability and climate resilience. The component targets the connection of approximately 24,842 non-electrified households, businesses, and public facilities. The Project Implementation Unit (PIU) is established within the MoEM and is supported by two Technical Units: the On-Grid Technical Unit and the Off-Grid Technical Unit, respectively tasked with implementing the off-grid and on-grid project activities. Working closely with the Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC), which is the state-owned utility responsible for the transmission and distribution of electricity nationwide, the On-Grid Technical Unit is specifically mandated to bear the primary r