OFFICIAL & 1-o I DOCUMENTS The World Bank 1818 H Street N.W. (202) 477-1234 INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT Washington, D.C. 20433 Cable Address: INTBAFRAD INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION U.S.A. Cable Address: INDEVAS ig ~ ;~6W~2013 The Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit Prime Minister & Minister of Finance and Planning 6th Floor, Financial Centre Kennedy Avenue Roseau Dominica Re: Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica: Advance Agreement for Preparation of Proposed Dominica Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP) Project Preparation Advance No. Q8910-001 Dear Prime Minister: In response to the request for financial assistance made on behalf of Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica ("Recipient"), I am pleased to inform you that the International Development Association ("World Bank") proposes to extend to the Recipient an advance out of the World Bank's Project Preparation Facility in an amount not to exceed two million United States Dollars ($2,000,000) ("Advance") on the terms and conditions set forth or referred to in this letter agreement ("Agreement"), which includes the attached Annex, to assist in financing the activities described in the Annex ("Activities"). The objective of the Activities is to facilitate the preparation of a proposed project designed to strengthen national and regional resilience to current natural hazards and longer-term impacts resulting from climate change ("Project"), for the carrying out of which the Recipient has requested the World Bank's financial assistance. The Recipient represents, by confirming its agreement below, that: (a) it understands that the provision of the Advance does not constitute or imply any commitment on the part of IBRD or IDA to assist in financing the Project (b) it is authorized to enter into this Agreement and to carry out the Activities, repay the Advance and perform its other obligations under this Agreement, all in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. Please confirm the Recipient's agreement to the foregoing by having an authorized official of the Recipient sign and date the enclosed copy of this Agreement, and returning it to the World Bank. Upon receipt by the World Bank of this countersigned copy, this Agreement shall become effective as of the date of the countersignature. Very truly yours, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION By - ophie Sirtaine Director Caribbean Country Management Unit, Latin America and the Caribbean Region AGREED: GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA By A horized Representative Name = zFar- s'c-qIT Title ip Ni-M osrc Ci 1- 10 bi Date: )61tl q/ A c-12 (', Enclosures: (1) "Standard Conditions for Advances Made by the World Bank under its Project Preparation Facility", dated July 31, 2010; and (2) Disbursement Letter for the Advance of the same date as this Agreement, together with "World Bank Disbursement Guidelines for Projects", dated May 1, 2006. 2 PPA No. Q891-001 ANNEX Article I Standard Conditions; Definitions 1.01. Standard Conditions. The Standard Conditions for Advances Made by the World Bank under its Project Preparation Facility dated July 31, 2010 ("Standard Conditions"), constitute an integral part of this Agreement. 1.02. Definitions. Unless the context requires otherwise, the capitalized terms used in this Agreement have the meanings ascribed to them in the Standard Conditions or in this Agreement. Article II Execution of the Activities 2.01. Description of the Activities. The Activities for which the Advance is provided consist of the following parts: (a) Preparation of studies relating to pre-engineering activities. (b) Preparation of an Environmental Assessment and Environmental Management Framework; the development of a Resettlement Policy Framework (OP/BP 4.12) and Indigenous Peoples' Framework (OP 4.10). (c) Procure technical and field equipment and data capturing tools, computer equipment and IT system support including supporting software. (d) Upgrade line ministry bandwidth through connectivity with established fiber-optic network infrastructure. (e) Establishment of a project management unit (PMU) within the Ministry of Environment with oversight from the Ministry of Finance. (f) Provision of Trainings to support project preparation and implementation, including training in the use of specialized software for (inter alia): GIS programming, GPS surveying, remote sensing, information systems and watershed modeling. (g) Carry out audit of the Advance. 2.02. Execution of the Activities Generally. The Recipient declares its commitment to the objectives of the Activities. To this end, the Recipient shall carry out the Activities in accordance with the provisions of: (a) Article II of the Standard Conditions; (b) this Article 11; and (c) the "Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption in Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants", dated October 15, 2006 and revised in January 2011. 3 2.03. Institutional and Other Arrangements. The Recipient shall designate the person(s) responsible within the Ministry of Finance to ensure compliance with World Bank fiduciary policies and to work with the Ministry of Environment to initiate the hiring of key staff for the PMU to manage the Advance. The established PMU shall be housed within the Ministry of Environment with oversight from the Ministry of Finance and will be responsible for carrying out the Activities. 2.04. Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation of the Activities. The Recipient shall monitor and evaluate the progress of the Activities in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.08 of the Standard Conditions. 2.05. Financial Management (a) The Recipient shall ensure that a financial management system is maintained in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.09 of the Standard Conditions. (b) The Recipient shall ensure that interim un-audited financial reports for the Activities are prepared and furnished to the World Bank not later than one month after the end of each calendar semester, covering the semester, in form and substance satisfactory to the World Bank. (c) The Recipient shall have its Financial Statements audited in accordance with the provisions of Sections 2.09 (b) of the Standard Conditions. Each such audit of the Financial Statements shall cover the period of one fiscal year of the Recipient, commencing with the fiscal year in which the first withdrawal under the Advance was made. The audited Financial Statements for such period shall be furnished to the World Bank not later than six months after the end of such period. 2.06. Procurement (a) General. All goods, works, non-consulting services and consultants' services required for the Activities and to be financed out of the proceeds of the Advance shall be procured in accordance with the requirements set forth or referred to in: (i) Section I of the "Guidelines: Procurement of Goods, Works and Non- consulting Services under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants by World Bank Borrowers" dated January 2011 ("Procurement Guidelines"), in the case of goods, works and non-consulting services; (ii) Sections I and IV of the "Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants by World Bank Borrowers" dated January 2011 ("Consultant Guidelines") in the case of consultants' services; and (iii) the provisions of this Section, as the same shall be elaborated in the procurement plan prepared and updated from time to time by the Recipient for the Activities in accordance with paragraph 1.18 of the Procurement Guidelines and paragraph 1.25 of the Consultant Guidelines ("Procurement Plan"). (b) Definitions. The capitalized terms used in the following paragraphs of this Section to describe particular procurement methods or methods of review by the World Bank of 4 particular contracts, refer to the corresponding method described in Sections II and III of the Procurement Guidelines, or Sections 11, III, IV and V of the Consultant Guidelines, as the case may be. (c) Particular Methods of Procurement of Goods, Works and Non-consulting Services (i) Except as otherwise provided in sub-paragraph (ii) below, goods, works and non-consulting services shall be procured under contracts awarded on the basis of International and National Competitive Bidding. (ii) The following methods, other than International and National Competitive Bidding, may be used for procurement of goods, works and non-consulting services for those contracts specified in the Procurement Plan: (A) Shopping; (B) Direct Contracting. (d) Particular Methods of Procurement of Consultants' Services (i) Except as otherwise provided in item (ii) below, consultants' services shall be procured under contracts awarded on the basis of Quality- and Cost-based Selection. (ii) The following methods may be used for the procurement of consultants' services for those assignments which are specified in the Procurement Plan: (A) Quality-based Selection; (B) Selection under a Fixed Budget; (C) Least Cost Selection; (D) Selection based on Consultants' Qualifications; (E) Single-source Selection of consulting firms; (1) Selection of Individual Consultants; and (J) Single-source procedures for the Selection of Individual Consultants. (e) Review by the World Bank of Procurement Decisions. The Procurement Plan shall set forth those contracts which shall be subject to the World Bank's Prior Review. All other contracts shall be subject to Post Review by the World Bank. 5 Article III Withdrawal of the Advance 3.01. Eligible Expenditures. The Recipient may withdraw the proceeds of the Advance in accordance with the provisions of: (a) Article III of the Standard Conditions; (b) this Section; and (c) such additional instructions as the World Bank may specify by notice to the Recipient (including the "World Bank Disbursement Guidelines for Projects" dated May 2006, as revised from time to time by the World Bank and as made applicable to this Agreement pursuant to such instructions), to finance Eligible Expenditures as set forth in the following table. The table specifies each category of Eligible Expenditures that may be financed out of the proceeds of the Advance ("Category"), the amount of the Advance allocated to each Category, and the percentage of expenditures to be financed for Eligible Expenditures in each Category: Category Amount of the Advance Percentage of Allocated Expenditures to be (expressed in Dollars) Financed (inclusive of Taxes) (1) Goods, works, non- 2,000,000 100% consulting services, consultants' services, training and operating costs under the Activities TOTAL AMOUNT 2,000,000 For the purpose of this Article, the term: (a) "Training" means the reasonable non-consultant expenditures incurred by the Recipient in connection with carrying out of training activities under the Project, including travel costs, per diem of trainers, facilitators and training materials. (b) (b) Operating Costs" means the sundry recurrent expenses, excluding salaries, directly related to the performance of Project activities, including the expenses of the PCU, office space, travel costs, office supplies and the cost of audits. 3.02. Withdrawal Conditions. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3.01 of this Agreement, no withdrawal shall be made for payments made prior to the date of countersignature of this Agreement by the Recipient. 3.03. Refinancing Date. The Refinancing Date is June 27, 2014. 6 Article IV Terms of the Advance 4.01. Service Charge. The Recipient shall pay a service charge on the Withdrawn Advance Balance at the rate of three-fourths of one percent (3/4 of 1%) per annum. The service charge shall accrue from the respective dates on which amounts of the Advance are withdrawn and shall be paid in arrears in accordance with the provisions of Section 4.02 of this Agreement. Service charges shall be computed on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months. 4.02. Repayment. The Withdrawn Advance Balance shall be repaid by the Recipient to the World Bank (together with any service charges accrued thereon) in accordance with the provisions of Article IV of the Standard Conditions and the following provisions: (a) Refinancing under the Refinancing Agreement: If, on or before the Refinancing Date, a Refinancing Agreement has been executed by all of its parties, then the full amount of the Withdrawn Advance Balance shall be repaid to the World Bank (together with any service charges accrued on the Advance to the date of repayment) as soon as the Refinancing Agreement becomes effective, by means of a withdrawal by the World Bank of an amount of the Refinancing Proceeds equivalent to the Withdrawn Advance Balance plus such service charges, in accordance with the provisions of the Refinancing Agreement. (b) Repayment in the absence of a Refinancing Agreement: If, on or before the Refinancing Date, no Refinancing Agreement has been executed by all of its parties, or if, by such date or at any time thereafter, it has been so executed but terminates without becoming effective, then: (i) if the amount of the Withdrawn Advance Balance does not exceed $50,000, it shall be repaid by the Recipient to the World Bank (together with service charges accrued on the Withdrawn Advance Balance to the date of repayment) on such date as the World Bank shall specify in a notice to the Recipient, which shall in no event be earlier than 60 days following the date of dispatch of such notice; and (ii) if the amount of the Withdrawn Advance Balance exceeds $50,000, it (together with service charges accrued on the Withdrawn Advance Balance to the Notice Date) (the "Aggregate Balance") shall be paid by the Recipient to the World Bank in ten approximately equal semiannual installments, in the amounts and on the dates ("Payment Dates") which the World Bank shall specify in a notice to the Recipient. In no event shall the first Payment Date be set earlier than 60 days following the date ("Notice Date") of dispatch of such notice. The Recipient shall pay a service charge on the Aggregate Balance at the rate of three-fourths of one percent (3/4 of 1%) per annum, payable in arrears on each Payment Date. The service charge shall be computed on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months. 7 Article V Recipient's Representative; Addresses 5.01. Recipient's Representative. The Recipient's Representative referred to in Section 9.02 of the Standard Conditions is the Minister of Finance. 5.02. Recipient's Address. The Recipient's Address referred to in Section 9.01 of the Standard Conditions is: Ministry of Finance 5th Floor Kennedy Centre Kennedy Avenue Roseau Commonwealth of Dominica Cable: Telex: Facsimile: (767)448-0054 5.03. World Bank's Address. The World Bank's Address referred to in Section 9.01 of the Standard Conditions is: International Development Association 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 United States of America Cable: Telex: Facsimile: INTBAFRAD 248423 (MCI) or 1-202-477-6391 Washington, D.C. 64145 (MCI) 8