Expression of Interest (EOI) for Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC)

Establishment of Municipal-Level Market Center (Potato Processing Hub)

Issued By: Hamro Prayas Nepal (HPN)

In Partnership With: dZi Foundation/Nepal

Location: Sunkoshi Rural Municipality, Sindhuli district, Bagmati Province.

Date of Publication: June 28, 2026

1. Background and Context

dZi Foundation is a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to working with rural communities in Nepal to achieve prosperity by removing barriers to basic needs, fostering sustainable livelihood opportunities, and enhancing local capacity to drive transformational change. Its current strategic plan emphasizes partnerships, local ownership, and long-term sustainability beyond external investments.

Under the direct strategic guidance and compliance direction of dZi Foundation/Nepal, the Local Implementing Partner NGO (LIPN), Hamro Prayas Nepal (HPN), is implementing the project Initiative for Shared Prosperity in Koshi River Basin in Nepal (ISPKN). This project integrates a model targeting the end-to-end design, procurement, and physical execution of one municipal-level market center focused on commercial value addition, supply chain resilience, and economic self-sufficiency.

The initiative utilizes an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) framework through open competitive bidding. This model enforces single-point management accountability to guarantee strict compliance with engineering standards, procurement efficiency, environmental safeguards, and construction punctuality.

2. Project Overview & Specifications

Implementation Framework

• EPC Model: The project utilizes an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction framework via open competitive bidding. 
• Accountability: Single-point management accountability is enforced to guarantee compliance with engineering standards, procurement efficiency, environmental safeguards, and strict construction punctuality.

Household Impact

• Target Beneficiaries: The establishment and operationalization of this hub must directly benefit a minimum of 200 farming households within the market hub area. 
• Inclusion Priority: The center will specifically prioritize smallholders, women, and marginalized producers.

Financial Co-Investment

• Local Mobilization: The selected EPC contractor, in coordination with project steering entities, must mobilize a minimum of 25% of the total asset co-investment locally. 
• Funding Sources: This co-investment must be secured from municipal budgets, local cooperatives, and private sector commercial partners to ensure long-term regional ownership.

Site & Commodity Specifications

• Location: Sunkoshi Municipality, Sindhuli District, Bagmati Province. 
• Target Commodity & Volume: Post-harvest management and processing of potato crops, supporting a footprint where Wards 3 and 4 serve as primary production areas. Around 500 households in these wards are engaged in potato farming, producing an estimated 3,000 -3,500 MT across two to three growing seasons. 
• Value-Added Focus: Establish an industrial-scale potato chip production and automated packaging facility to stabilize highly volatile farm-gate prices, which historically drop as low as Rs 10/kg against an average of Rs 25/kg. 
• Local Workforce: The center will leverage a foundational workforce of local farmers who have already received foundational chips-making training from the Department of Cottage and Small Industries.

3. Project Timeline & Payment Milestones

The total duration for the complete engineering, procurement, construction, and initial trial commissioning is projected to be a 6 to 9-month execution window from the date of contract signing. All payments are performance-based, requiring verified on-site structural validation and written municipal/cooperative sign-offs before disbursements.

 4. Technical Scope of Work (EPC Pillars)

Phase 1: Engineering & Detailed Design

• Process Flow Layouts: Design optimal, food-safe processing flows for the potato chips line. 
• Inclusive Structural Design: Incorporate explicit Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) elements directly into physical building blueprints, mandating women-friendly spaces such as separate restrooms, clean changing areas, lactation rooms, well-lit pathways, and safety systems scaled for diverse operators. 
• Environmental Safeguards: Engineer comprehensive waste-mitigation frameworks to handle processing by-products (e.g., potato peels and wastewater) for ecological sustainability or secondary commercial applications.

Phase 2: Procurement & Supply Chain Management

• Specialized Machinery Lines: Source, test, and ship complete commodity-specific processing configurations including automated industrial washers, peelers, slicers, commercial batch fryers, and nitrogen-flush packaging machinery. 
• Quality Control & Utilities: Procure laboratory testing equipment (Soxhlet apparatus, refractometers, moisture meters) alongside high-capacity power transformers (30-50 kVA) to protect the facility against local grid fluctuations.

Phase 3: Construction & Operational Commissioning

• Civil Works & System Integration: Execute all earthworks, foundation casting, structural steel framing, thermal-insulated wall partitioning, and interior hygiene-grade surfacing. Install and wire all electromechanical processing machinery, automated control panels, laboratory arrays, and industrial backup power units. 
• Trial Runs & Licensing Support: Lead uninterrupted trial operational runs to validate plant throughput parameters, safety controls, and product consistency, preparing documentation for necessary food safety licensing (e.g., DFTQC compliance).

5. Bidder Evaluation Criteria

Bidding firms will be assessed based on a 100-point matrix broken down into the following weighted focus areas: 

• Regional Experience in Nepal (25%): Track record of executing similar agricultural, industrial, or civil engineering infrastructure projects located within the Eastern and Central regions of Nepal (e.g., Koshi, Madhesh, and Bagmati provinces), showing a clear understanding of mid-hill and flatland terrain logistics. 
• Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Model (25%): Proactive engagement methodologies working alongside local communities, farmer groups, and cooperatives; interfacing with local municipal government (Palika) for permitting/leasing; and coordinating with private sector commercial actors for downstream market linkages. 
• Technical Approach & SOW Compliance (25%): Quality and feasibility of engineering designs, logical sequencing within the proposed 6-9 month fast-track schedule, and the robustness of integrated environmental safeguards and structural GESI provisions. 
• Financial Capabilities & Local Co-investment Plan (25%): Financial viability and historical liquidity of the EPC firm to manage projects, alongside the credibility and transparency of the proposed mechanism to securely mobilize the minimum 25% local/private co-investment share.

6. Risk Management, Submission & Inquiries

Conflict Sensitivity & Grievance Redress

• Labor Recruitment: The contractor must ensure absolute geographic, ethnic, and ward-level balance during local construction labor recruitment to prevent localized community friction. 
• Grievance Mechanism: The contractor is required to set up an accessible, transparent, and anonymous grievance box and logging mechanism at the site on day one of mobilization to capture and immediately address complaints.

Submission Requirements

Interested Nepali companies/firms/organizations or Joint Ventures (JVs) of similar registered entities meeting the qualifications can submit their EOI containing: 

1. A cover page. 
2. A brief technical and financial proposal of not more than 10 pages. 
3. Updated company profiles with the latest renewal and tax clearance certificates. 
4. Evidence of at least 3 similar assignments.

Contact, Deadlines & Logistics

• Inquiries: Any questions or clarifications regarding this EOI should be directed to hamroprayashnepal.com by July 2, 2026. The email must use the subject line: Inquiry for Sunkoshi RM. 
• Submission Deadline: Please submit your complete EOI by July 12, 2026, to hamroprayashnepal.sindhuli@gmail.com. The email must use the subject line: EOI for Sunkoshi RM. 
• File Size Constraint: Please ensure that the email attachment is not larger than 10 MB.

Please Note: Hamro Prayas Nepal (HPN), under the compliance direction of dZi Foundation, may engage one or more firms to carry out the assignment and reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals without assigning any reason whatsoever.