Training of RBD & SOE staff in the Road Sector

The Government of Iraq (GoI) has received financing of US$ 355 million from the World Bank (WB) to support the implementation of the Transport Corridors Project (TCP). The overall aim of the project is to improve the quality and delivery of road infrastructure services through a combination of road rehabilitation investment and institutional development for the Roads and Bridges Directorate (RBD) and General Directorate for Roads and Bridges (GDRB) which are mandated to deliver road infrastructure services in Iraq.

The TCP consists of three components:

1. strategic infrastructure investments
2. institutional capacity building and strengthening
3. project implementation and monitoring

The GoI, through the RBD and its Project Management Teams (PMT), engaged DG Jones and Partners to develop and implement a structured training program for the State-Owned Construction Companies/ Enterprises (SOEs) staff and management and the Roads and Bridges Directorate (RBD) staff and directors.

A contract titled “Consulting Services for Training of staff of Road and Bridges Directorate (RBD) and State-owned Construction Companies / Enterprises SOEs in the Road Sector” was signed in December 2020 with the Ministry of Construction, Housing & Public Municipalities/Roads and Bridges Directorate, over a period of 30 weeks.

The main objective of this project is to develop and deliver a structured training program aiming to support the local construction industry in Baghdad, at the level of the Roads and Bridges Directorate, as client and consultants, and at the level of the State-Owned Enterprises, as contractors, to reach a level of maturity in the field.

The aim of this training program is to enable the delivery of high-quality products (studies, bidding documents, requests for proposals, safeguards, international practices, etc.), and to provide State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) the capacity to deliver high-end technical proposals and bids, as well as to enable them to optimize their internal management procedures and processes.

This will require the preparation of the appropriately skilled staff to be responsible for the technical and fiduciary management of all project activities including procurement and contract management and planning, health and road safety, environmental and social safeguards, administration of project funds, reporting as well as making payments to suppliers, consultants, and contractors, and account for funds disbursed according to the international guidelines and procedures.

DG Jones & Partners was successfully able to deliver the complete training program for a period of six weeks (from March 28, 2021, to May 6, 2021). An average of 20 participants from each of the two groups (RBDs and SOEs) were attending the training courses mentioned below. A certificate of completion was distributed to training participants upon the successful completion of each course.

As a result of the training:

• The RBD staff and local consultants got a better understanding and in-depth knowledge of Public Procurement regulations and guidelines, preparation of requests for proposals, technical evaluation of proposals and bids, policies and practices on safeguards such as environmental, social, road safety, and occupational, health and safety. Trainees were coached to build their autonomy system in bidding documents preparation and review, which will upsurge the confidence of the stakeholders in the public sector.
• The SOE staff and local contractors were able to understand the best practices in procurement and respond to all government bid opportunities with confidence, by understanding the structure of bidding documents, the importance of environmental and social safeguards, road safety, and overall project management, and professional project planning. They will be able to prepare high-end technical proposals and bids.

Please check the following link https://youtu.be/GT2l30DsPVI for a brief video on the first series of training courses.