Based on the loan agreements for the Municipal Services Improvement Project (IBRD-7699 and IBRD-8158) financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the EU IPA grant agreement No. TF018812 financed with funds of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) of the European Union, the Ministry of Finance announces the following
PUBLIC CALL NO. 01/2015
For proposals for usage of EU IPA grant funds for rural infrastructure
- SUBJECT OF THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The subject of this call for proposals is to award financial support to local self-government units in the Republic of Macedonia aimed at improvement of the level of municipal services. The financing of infrastructural projects should contribute to: a) improvement of the quality of life in rural areas, b) reduction of disparities between urban and/or rural municipalities with reference to their socio-economic development and c) improvement of competitiveness of rural areas.
- ELIGIBLE MUNICIPALITIES
The final beneficiaries are local self-government units as defined in the Law on territorial organization of the local self-government of the Republic of Macedonia (Official Gazette 55/04 and its subsequent amendments) where there are rural areas noted in the official List of rural areas and rural settlements in the Republic of Macedonia (Official Gazette No. 89/2011). The municipalities which do not have any rural areas within their territory i.e. the municipalities: City of Skopje, Chair and Centar will not be considered eligible.
- AMOUNT OF GRANT FUNDS AND ELIGIBLE INVESTMENTS
The maximum amount of funds per municipality is defined as follows:
Subject |
Maximum amount of funds (Euro)[1] |
Urban unit of local self-government |
120,000.00 |
Rural unit of local self-government |
260,000.00 |
The funds should be, but are not limited, for investments in infrastructure sub-projects in water supply, wastewater collection and treatment (waste water treatment plants and sewerage systems for population equivalent between 2,000 and 10,000), solid waste management, construction and reconstruction of local streets and roads, basic infrastructure for energy supply, renewable sources of energy, energy efficiency projects, street lighting, arrangement and/or construction of tourist and recreational areas, construction and/or reconstruction of municipal facilities such as youth centers, kindergartens, schools, markets, municipal buildings and other priority projects of the local self-government.
Eligible expenditures under this financial support are civil works, procurement of goods and services related to the proposed sub-project.
Categories of expenditures shall not include financing of taxes and other public fees and duties. In accordance with the Law on Value Added Tax and the Law on customs, the local self-government units as implementers of the proposed sub-projects will be exempt of these taxes and public fees.
The financial support amounts to 100% of the value of the investment and it is granted to the local self-government units as non-refundable financial assistance (grant).
The following investments will not be eligible for financing with these grant funds:
- Sub-projects which have activities related to preparation of the urban planning documents;
- All projects classified as World Bank A category;
- Irrigation projects.
- CONDITIONS ON USAGE OF FUNDS AND SUBMITTED DOCUMENTATION
Each project proposed to be financed with these grant should meet the following criteria:
- It must contribute to the specific goals of this financial support i.e. it should be targeted at improvement of the quality of life in rural areas, reduction of disparities between urban and/or rural municipalities with reference to their socio-economic development and improvement of competitiveness of rural areas.
- It should be within municipal jurisdiction stipulated with the relevant laws on local self-government units.
- The proposed project shall be considered a priority for the local self-government unit pursuant to the relevant strategic municipal documents and must be approved by the municipal Council.
The potential local self-government units should submit the following documentation in the application phase for the IPA grant funds:
- Project Information Fiche (Request for usage of funds), filled out legibly in Macedonian with Cyrillic letters.
- Technical documentation for the proposed sub-project i.e. detailed design for civil works and technical specifications for procurement of goods.
- Municipal council decision on implementation of the proposed sub-project.
In the event a local self-government unit applies with a project for collection and treatment of waste water, submitting technical documentation is not compulsory in the application stage.
A participating municipality may apply with a maximum of (3) three projects, within the maximum ceiling permitted per type of municipality.
A participating municipality may apply with a project of higher value than the maximum ceiling permitted per investment grant, but would need to present the manner in which the remaining funds will be obtained in order to provide complete financing of the project.
- OBTAINING FORMS AND GUIDELINES
The form – Request for usage of funds together with the Guidelines on usage of IPA grant funds for improvement of rural infrastructure can be obtained at the Ministry of Finance internet site – https://finance.gov.mk/mk/node/1056 or directly at the Ministry of Finance at the following address:
Ministry of Finance
Dame Gruev street, No 12
1000 Skopje
- SUBMITTING OF DOCUMENTS
Filled out requests for usage of IPA grant funds for improvement of rural infrastructure together with the compete required documentation should be submitted in Macedonian, in a closed envelope marked “DO NOT OPEN for Public call No. 1/2014”.
The requests can be sent by mail or can be delivered personally at the archive of the Ministry of Finance. Otherwise, the Ministry of Finance assumes no responsibility for lost or prematurely opened documents.
The deadline for submission of requests is 06.04.2015. Requests submitted after the deadline shall not be considered.
More details regarding this Call for proposals can be obtained at the address stated below during each working day from 8:30 until 16:30.
Ministry of Finance
Municipal Services Improvement Project (MSIP)
Address: Dame Gruev street No. 12, 1000 Skopje
Telephone: 02 3255 737; 02 3255 736; 02 3255 730
Email: goran.trencevski@finance.gov.mk
[1] The conversion of Denar into Euro is according to the buying exchange rate for Euro in accordance with the offical exchange rate of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia at the date of publishing of this Call for proposals