Provision of Consulting Engineering Services for Detailed Needs Assessment and Tender Documents for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure throughout the Gaza Strip – Lot 1

This assignment was part of UNICEF’s broader WASH emergency and recovery strategy in Gaza Strip and was intended to enable the rapid deployment of donor funds for infrastructure restoration and public health protection. The objectives of this assignment were to support UNICEF, CMWU and PWA and their partners in:

Conducting a detailed technical assessment of WASH infrastructure damages and service gaps across all five governorates in Gaza;

Identifying and prioritizing immediate, short-term, and long-term interventions based on severity, population impact, and feasibility;

Preparing engineering designs, bills of quantity, and tender documents for selected high-priority rehabilitation and construction projects;

Providing a GIS-based mapping and data system that consolidated assessment findings into a visual platform for coordination and decision-making;

Ensuring that all outputs aligned with national policies, local utility needs, and donor expectations, particularly in relation to environmental and social safeguards, quality standards, and procurement readiness.

As part of this assignment, the CEP was commissioned to undertake a comprehensive technical assessment of all water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. The assessment was intended to encompass both physical and functional evaluations, focusing on infrastructure that was partially or fully damaged, non-operational, or rendered inaccessible due to the ongoing crisis. In line with the project’s objectives, this exercise was intended to provide the critical baseline needed to inform emergency, medium-, and long-term response planning. The scope of this consultancy, as outlined in the Terms of Reference (ToR), covered the following key components:

Conducting full WASH infrastructure assessments in Gaza and North Gaza Governorates

Surveying water supply systems (e.g., wells, pipelines, reservoirs), wastewater systems (e.g., pumping stations, networks), and stormwater infrastructure (e.g., drainage channels, retention basins) to assess functionality, damages, and rehabilitation needs.

Classifying interventions into emergency, short-, medium-, and long-term categories, using a multi-criteria prioritization model based on urgency, public health risk, and implementation feasibility.

Producing detailed engineering designs, specifications, drawings, and BoQs for selected priority projects, ready for procurement by UNICEF and partners.

Developing geospatial maps of all assessed assets and needs, and aligning datasets with CMWU’s and PWA’s existing systems in addition to providing an online dashboard to guide the interventions of the WASH clusters.

Coordinating with CMWU, PWA, municipalities, and local communities to validate findings and ensure relevance and sustainability of proposed solutions.

Delivering all reports, designs, and documents in line with UNICEF’s formatting, technical, and ethical standards.