Experience from working with WB in the area of Water Resources Management

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Experience from working with WB in the area of
Water Resources Management

• Harsha Ratnaweera
• Director Business Development, NIVA- Norwegian
  Institute for Water Research
• Professor on Water Wastewater Technology,
  Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås.

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NIVA

• A private foundation, with 12 state grant
• National centre for water related RD
• 200 empl.(120 specialists), USD 25 mill turnover
• Experience from gt60 countries, during 25 years
• 15 are Development Projects

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Our priorities

• In general, we follow the Norwegian national
  priorities
• 80s Africa
• Early 90s Eastern Europe
• Late 90s Asia (China)
• Early 2000 Balkan
• Development projects
• 75 Norwegian funding
• 10-15 World Bank
• Size
• lt 2 mln USD Lead consultant
• Bigger projects Sub consultant to N- consulting
  companies.

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Our success in WB projects
Project name Where partners Period
Wastewater Action Plan Mongolia 2003
Coastal Zone Mgmt Tanzania 2002
Urban Development studies Caribbean C 2003
Thu Bon Basin Plan Vietnam 2001-2002
NEAP revision Mongolia NIBR 2000
Coastal Zone Management in Ghana Ghana   1999-2000
Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Prog.(NEL-SAP) Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, NORPLAN NIVA sub-consultant 2000
Water Sector Project Senegal   1998-2001
Water Resources Action Plan Zambia ICI, NCI, RBI Consul 1997-2000
Limnological study of Murchinson Bay and Napoleon Gulf Uganda U of Wien 1996
National hydropower plan Vietnam NVE 1996
Sri Lanka Port Efficiency Improvement Project Sri Lanka U of Moratuwa, SL 1997-1998
Water Management and hydropower generation study Ukraine Norplan 1997-1999
PIAC Planning of an Integrated Acidification Study on Acid Rain Impacts China NILU, NINA, UiO, 1997-1998
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Why World Bank projects?

• Water and Environment are priorities
• Access to new markets
• Access to an extraordinary knowledge base
• Learning process to become more disciplined and
  attractive consultants
• Attractive financing source, at times.

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Entrance

• A relatively high threshold
• Patience
• Professionalism

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Competition

• Competing with thousands of consultants and firms
  with
• many years of professional experience,
• Many years of country experience,
• personal contacts,
• government assistance,
• Lot of marketing and lobbying resources
• and networking.

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Role of Norwegian Authorities

• Norwegian Trade Council until 2000
• Assist in arranging meetings
• Following up with WB TMs
• Facilitating relevant information
• Norwegian Embassy since then
• Arranging the WB-N Forum
• Assistance in arranging meetings

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Role of Norwegian Mechanisms

• Norwegian Consultancy Trust Fund
• 50 for N-Consultants, TM can request funding and
  often quickly and locally decided.
• Good success
• TF ESSD
• Financed by N, but with no restrictions.
• Less success
• Other TF not much relevant for past projects

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Formalities

• Need to register as a Vendor
• Not sure what else are the benefits

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Either in or out??

• Difficult to come in
• Once in, try to best, and better
• Second contract is easier
• Third is even more easier
• Personal contacts and references seems to mean a
  lot

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Dollar Factor

• USD 500-600 independent consultant USD 550-900
  for a company per day.

Daily rate, NOK/6 NOK/9.5
500 375 594
600 450 713
900 675 1069
1100 825 1306
Note there are companies who work gladly for USD
500-600/day !!
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Need for follow up

• Need to be visible and remembered by TMs..
• Frequent visits
• Emails/telephones (WB staff is more keen to reply
  to emails than NORAD)
• Frequent Bidding and applications
• Dollar factor and the other markets unfortunately
  distract the attention to WB

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Even if the NOK/ is low

• There are reasons to work with WB
• New markets countries, regions
• Networking Contacts with new clients
• Valuable references

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Bidding process

• Projects funded by NORAD and MFA often take
  months/years, and a heavy uncertainty
• Bidding projects relatively small, quick and
  predictable start-up
• Difficult to find the suitable tender
  opportunities (local media..?)

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Conclusion

• WB still an attractive client/financier
• Not only the direct remuneration -. But many
  indirect positive impacts
• NIVA will look for a slight increase in WB
  projects

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Thank you