Sixth Six-month progress report for project

“UNDG ITF Project A7-03 – Support to the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency”

Summary

Participating UN Organisation:	Cluster:
United Nations Office for Project Services (indicated for UNDP) and UNDG	UNDG Cluster 7

Project No. and Project Title:	Project Location/Region/Province:
UNDG ITF Project A7-03 UNOPS Project 00051104 “Support to the Iraq-Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA)”	Erbil Governorate in Northern Iraq

Reporting Period:	Report no:
1 July 2007 – 31 December 2007	Four

Counterpart organisations / implementing partners:	Project cost:
UNOPS is the Executing agency of the project under the supervision of UNDG Cluster as per the umbrella MoU signed in April 2004 between UNDP, as administrator of the UNDG/ITF, and UNOPS. UNOPS is supported by UNDP with the National Field Coordinator located in Erbil as a resource person, as required. UNOPS is the implementing partner of the IKMAA and administers the funds provided by the UNDG/ITF to the IKMAA as per the terms of the MOA between UNOPS and the IKMAA.	USD 2,921,852

Abbreviations and acronyms:	Project Duration:
UNOPS: United Nations Office for Project Services UNOPS NAO: North America Office UNOPS EUO: Europe Office IKMAA: Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (formerly known as Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Centre (IKMAC) MoU: Memorandum of Understanding MoA : Memorandum of Agreement MDD : Mine Detection Dog RFP : Request for Proposals NMAA : National Mine Action Authority CROMAC : Croatian Mine Action Centre SRSA : Swedish Rescue Services Agency NPA : Norwegian People’s Aid CROMAC : Croatian Mine Action Centre Bozena Mini Flail : Small mechanical remote controlled mine clearance/vegetation removal machine.	Initially one Year. A request for a project extension for an additional 12 months was approved by the Steering Committee during December 2006. A further extension through April 2008 was then requested and approved in May 2007 and thereafter an extension through May 2008 was requested and approved.

NARRATIVE REPORT

Purpose

1.1 The overall objective of the Project is to increase the capacity building of the IKMAA as follows.

To increase demining performance and production rates by providing up to date mechanical demining equipment and accessories to the IKMAA (formerly known as IKMAA).

To provide courses in EOD Training and Information and Operations Management Training and to conduct a study visit to another Mine Action Programme.

Procurement of Mine Detection Equipment including Mine Detectors, Personal Protection Equipment.

Procurement of IT Equipment.

Procurement of spare parts for the existing fleet of Mine Detectors and Mechanical Mine Clearance Equipment.

The following outcomes are expected through the above activities:

Increased production rates and enhanced deminer's performance through providing up to date demining equipment, office equipment, mine clearance accessories and training for IKMAA senior staff.

Note:

1. The project lacked a project manager during most of 2006. A UNOPS project manager was initially identified during early 2006. However the candidate later rejected the offer why a new candidate had to be identified. A suitable candidate was later identified in September but could not take up the position in Amman until early December 2006 due to other commitments with UNOPS and with another Mine Action Programme.

2. In December 2006 it was requested that the project objective “construction of mechanical clearance equipment” with a budget of US$ 1,992,000 for construction of mini flails, front end loaders and excavators with sifters to be utilized for clearance of landmines to be contracted through an initial competitive process (through a Request For Proposals (RFP) issued by UNOPS from the APIF), rather than through prequalification as per the project document. It was previously requested by the Iraqi National Mine Action Authority (NMAA) and IKMAA during a meeting held in Amman in May 2006 that the contract would be awarded through a competitive process (including the issuing of an Expression of Interest and the issuing of an RFP locally in Kurdistan Region). This in order to invite other possible contractors and to provide transparency. This request was supported by UNOPS and was also subsequently approved by the SC in early 2007 based on a formal request from UNOPS.

3. In addition to the above IKMAA requested that the objective in the Project Document; Awareness courses on quality and International Mine Action Standards were not necessary and therefore this should be replaced with Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training, Information Management Training and Planning and Operations Training. This request was supported by UNOPS and was also subsequently approved by the SC during early 2007. The training EOD training was completed by Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA) during the month of July 2007 and the Planning and Operations Training was completed in Jordan during the month of August, 2007.

4. It was also requested by the NMAA and IKMAA the MDD activity to be removed under the project. This part of the project was to include purchasing of MDD;s, MDD food, MDD medicine and hiring of MDD staff in at a total cost of US$ 259,704. IKMAA requested that this amount should be used to repair the current fleet of Bozena mini flails and to purchase Bozena spare parts and three Camcorders. Reason for this is that the originally envisaged cost to repair the Bozenas was much lower than what has been quoted by Bozena in January 2007 resulting that funds needed to be added to this budget line in order to enable UNOPS to purchase all the spare parts required. This request was supported by UNOPS and was also subsequently approved by the SC in early 2007. Subsequently the spare parts were purchased by UNOPS and the Bozena mini flails were all repaired during the month of July, 2007 and were thereafter back in operational use again.

5. In November 2007 it was requested to also include purchase of a number of vehicles, Land Cruisers, Pick-up trucks and a mini buss and to cancel the procurement of a low bed trailer truck. This was subsequently approved by the SC and the procurement of the vehicles was initiated in December 2007.

1.2 Explanation how the programme/project is relevant to the following benchmarks:

The UN System, under the auspices of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) developed a UN Strategy for the support to Iraq’s reconstruction and development. UNPD was designated to serve as the lead UN agency for Cluster 7, Mine Action, in Iraq effective 1 January 2004 with participation by UNMAS and UNOPS in the same cluster. In this cluster the project addresses the problem of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) contamination throughout Iraq that poses a serious threat to the safety of the civilian population by denying access to valuable resources including agricultural land, grazing land, roads, water sources and residential areas. UNDG/ITF Cluster A is designated for Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Management and therefore its goals are dependent on continuing to address the ERW problem. Under Cluster A7-03 project 51104, also falling under the umbrella of the NMAA, aims to increase and improve the existing assets of the indigenous Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Center (IKMAA) in Northern Iraq to address the needs of the Iraqi Kurdistan communities and vulnerable groups affected by landmines and other ERW.

1.3 Main implementing partners, their roles and responsibilities, and their interaction with the UNOPS

This project is carried out within UNDG’s Cluster A with overall project management from the UNOPS Mine Action Unit (MAU) in the UNOPS North America Office (NAO) and field implementation from the Project Manager based in UNOPS Iraq Operations Centre (IQOC). The Project Manager (recruited in December 2006) reports to the IQOC Country Director on matters relating to project coordination, field support and reporting to the ITF Steering Committee, and to the UNOPS MAU Senior Portfolio Manager on technical matters of substance. The Project Manager will travel to Iraq frequently to oversee the implementation of the project by the IKMAA, and also works in close consultation with the UNDP Mine Action Team. The Project Manager is supported by a UNOPS National Field Coordinator who reports directly to the Project Manager. On occasions the National Field Coordinator may travel to Amman for coordination meetings.

A Memorandum of Agreement between UNOPS and IKMAA that delineates the role of UNOPS as IKMAA’s implementing partner was drafted in December 2006 for signature by both parties. The MoA was signed in January 2007. Procurement and contracting is carried out by the Project Manager using UNOPS long term agreements and UNOPS procurement channels through the UNOPS NAO and UNOPS EUO.

Through a contractual agreement between UNOPS and SRSA, SRSA provided support to IKMAA during July 2007. SRSA provided three EOD trainers for a period of six weeks to train twelve IKMAA EOD staff and to bring their EOD training from Level 2 EOD to Level 3 EOD (see www.mineactionstandards.org). This training was provided at a cost to the project of only US$ 10,000 and also included provision of equipment to IKMAA at no cost. During the Information and Operations Management Training course for eight IKMAA senior Information and Operations Management staff, SRSA provided one instructor at no cost (through an MOU between UNOPS and SRSA) for a period of three weeks through a MOU between SRSA and UNOPS. During the said course, which took place in Jordan during August 2007, UNDP Iraq, the Mine Action Centre in Lebanon, Norwegian Peoples Aid and the Mine Action Office in Sudan also provided instructors at no cost (except for travel). During the course students from the National Committee for Demining and Rehabiliation also participated together with students from SRSA. During the month of April 2007, ten IKMAA staff travelled to Croatia to visit the Croatian Mine Action Programme and CROMAC for a period of nine days.

Resources

Human Resources:

2.1 National Staff:

One National Field Coordinator based in Erbil, Iraq.

2.2 International Staff:

One International Project Manager (P4) based in Amman, Jordan.

Methods of Operating

3.1 Details on the procurement procedures utilized and explain variances in standard procedures.

Procurement of Mine Clearance and Office Equipment

The demining equipment as listed in this report has been purchased by UNOPS. Some of the equipment has been purchased using the UNOPS long term agreements in place. IKMAA will have the responsibility of inspecting and receiving the equipment and provide a Receive and Inspection Report to UNOPS to make the payment to the supplying company directly. Some equipment is also purchased directly by IKMAA in Northern Iraq. The procedures for this are outlined under Para 4.2 in this report. Ever since the procurement done under Oil-for-Food Program by UNOPS several years ago, no new equipment has been provided to the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action program. During the Ronco funding phase in 2004 while NGO operating costs were covered, no new procurement of sensitive equipment was done. The demining and office equipment has suffered normal wear and tear and is therefore in urgent need of replacement.

3.2 Details on the monitoring system(s) that are being used and how you identify and incorporate lessons learned into the ongoing programme/project.

During the period no monitoring missions has been undertaken due to security restrictions, instead the UNOPS National Field Coordinator has travelled to Amman and Jordan on four occasions in order to liaise on project activities with the Project Manager. The Project Manager has also been denied security clearance on one occasion.

Results

4.1 Summary of programme/project progress in relation to planned outcomes and outputs; explain any variance in achieved versus planned outputs during the six month reporting period.

During the reporting period the following progress has been achieved:

An Information and Operations Management Training Course was conducted for eight IKMAA staff in Jordan for a period of two weeks during the month of August.

EOD training was conducted for 14 IKMAA staff in the Kurdistan Region during the month of July.

Monitoring of the construction activities including amending the construction contract to also include two water tankers to be used by IKMMA during mine clearance operations to water the ground and through this soften the ground for the subsequent mine clearance.

Delivery of the following machines on the 3rd of December 2007:

Two Front End Loaders/sifters,

Two Excavators,

Three Mobile Workshops,

Two Water Tankers with sufficient spare parts for one year,

Quantity of spare parts for one year maintenance and repair for all the above listed Mine Clearance Machines,

Spare parts for the two Water Tankers.

Procurement of the following vehicles:

One Toyota Land Cruiser GX-R, Year 2007 model.

Two Toyota Land Cruiser G, Year 2007 model.

One Toyota Pick-Up Double Cabin, Year 2007 model.

One Hyundai H-1 Minibus, Year 2007 model.

4.2 Key outputs achieved in the six month period including number and nature of the activities (inputs), % of completion and beneficiaries.

Construction of Mechanical Mine Clearance Machines (75%)

The Mechanical Clearance Machines construction will be implemented by a local entity that has been selected by UNOPS through a local competitive procurement process in the the Kurdistan Region. The competitive process was carried out in early 2007 and included the issuing of an EOI and the subsequent issuing of an RFP. The contract has been awarded by UNOPS to a local contractor (Zozik Company) in the Kurdistan Region. IKMAA has the responsibility of monitoring and supervising the construction, which is estimated to carry on through May 2008. In addition IKMAA has the responsibility of certifying the monthly reports submitted by the entity constructing the machines. The below machines are being constructed in the Kurdistan Region through a contractual arrangement and delivered after six and twelve months.

The following machines are scheduled to be constructed for IKMAA during 2007/2008:

3 x front end loaders fitted with sifters.

3 x excavators

4 x mobile workshops

Note: This also includes quantity of spare parts for one-year maintenance and repair of all machinery above. The quantities initially indicated had to be reduced after the issuing of the RFP since the funds available were not sufficient to cover the procurement of all machines as per initially envisaged. Under the contract two mini flails were to be constructed, however it was requested by IKMAA that these would be replaced with two water tankers that would be used for watering of mine field surfaces in order to make the mine clearance easier. This was done through an amendment to the contract with the contractor for the construction of the mine clearance machines who instead, and at no increased cost, delivered two water tankers, replacing the mini flails. The reason for this request from IKMAA was that the fleet of mini flails already owned by IKMAA was repaired by UNOPS as a part of the contract and therefore there was no longer a need for the additional two flails. The two water tankers were delivered together with the mine clearance machines on the 3rd of December 2007.

As of the 31st of December 2007 the following equipment has been purchased and delivered to IKMAA (100%):

Minelab detector spare parts – Worth of US$ 51,945 for repair of the current fleet of Minelab detectors.

Bozena spare parts - Worth of US$ 261,690.28 for repair of the current fleet of Bozena Mini Flails. Much of the spare parts were used during the month of July when two technicians from Way Industry (under a contract with UNOPS) repaired the fleet of Bozena Mini Flails on location in the Kurdistan Region.

Battery Rechargeable for Minelab detector – 3,500pcs

Charger Battery for detector – 240pcs

Helmet lightweight c/w visor 30cm – 434pcs

Appliqué for visor – 1,900pcs

Battery Rechargeable for VHF hand held Radios – 168pcs

Minelab F3 Mine Detectors – 12pcs

Vest protective RBR c/w carry bag (OS) – 154pcs

Laptop computer Sony Vaio VGN-FS875P/H – 10pcs

UPS Power ware 9155 15KVA – 1pcs

Digital Cameras – 18pcs

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) – 25

Two Front End Loaders/sifters

Two Excavators

Three Mobile Workshops

Two Water Tankers with sufficient spare parts for one year

Quantity of spare parts for one year maintenance and repair for all the above listed Mine Clearance Machines

Spare parts for the Water Tankers as per outlined here below:

Water tanker spare parts:

#	Spare part	Qty
1	Diesel filter 100 sqm/min	24
2	Oil filter	24
3	Air filter 100 sqm/min	12
4	Engine belts	12
5	Engine Oil (	800 liters
6	Hydraulic fluid	145 liters

Procurement of equipment by IKMAA under the MOA between IKMAA and UNOPS (90%).

Through the MOA with IKMAA, UNOPS are also providing IKMAA with funds for equipment to be purchased locally in the Kurdistan Region. This equipment will be purchased using UN rules for procurement. Payments to IKMAA under the MOA are only done once IKMAA provides evidence of following those rules. The MOA is implemented with the following payments to IKMAA; US$ 25,000	upon signature of the MOA (completed). US$ 100,000 upon receipt of IKMAA's Receive and Inspection Report of the items purchased up to a minimum amount of US$ 8,000 and production and acceptance of the procurement process followed by IKMAA using the funds under the first instalment of US$ 25,000 (ongoing) and US$ 11,003	upon receipt of IKMAA's Receive and Inspection Report of the items purchased and production and acceptance of the procurement process followed by IKMAA using the funds under the second instalment of US$ 100,000. The reasoning behind allowing IKMAA doing this procurement locally is that IKMAA can do it at a lower cost locally since no fright costs will be charged. The procurement is estimated to be completed during the month of January 2008. The following equipment has been or is currently being procured by IKMAA directly under the MOA:

#	Item Description	Qty
Computer Dell PowerEdge 2900	3
Computer Dell OptiPlex GX745	3
Computer Dell OptiPlex 320L	3
Laptop computer Sony Vaio VGN-zs43, 13.3” with Bag	3
HP LaserJet 5200nt	3
Netgear Access point GW602	4
Netgear Wireless Router WGR614	4
Netgear Wall-Plugged Wireless Range Extender WGXB102	4
Netgear 16 port Gigabit switch GS516T	2
Netgear 8 port Gigabit switch GS100	8
Intel Gore 2 Duo Processor E6700 (2,66GHz 4M cache) LG 19” Flat Panel Monitor Case Giga Byte 500W Extreme Power Supply, No FDD, 56Kpbs Fax Modem, Mouse+ Keyboard+ Mouse Pad.	2
External USB Hard Drive with the following specs: 1TB External USB 2 HDD western digital with complete backup software.	1
Intel Pentium Processor (3.4 GHz 2M cache, 800FSB. LG 17” Flat Panel LCD Motherboard: Intel by Intel D945, built in display adaptor 128 MB, 1 GB RAM 667, 250 GB HDD SATA, LAN card, DVD/CD RW, Rewriter Combo Multimedia, Keyboard, Mouse, Mouse pad, Speaker	13
Copier Machine Canon NP 6251	3
Copier Machine Canon NP7161	8
Printer HP Colour Laser jet 9500 N	3
APC Smart UPS 750VA SUA 7501	25
Video Cameras	2
Printer HP Color Laser jet 1600	2
Printer HP Laser jet P2015	20
Scanner A3	2
Flash Memory 2GB	15

Training activities (100%)

Official Study Tour to Croatia

During the month of April 2007 IKMAA conducted an Official Study Tour to the Croatian Mine Action Programme and the Croatian Mine Action Centre. The study visit to Croatia took place between the 19th of April and the 1st of May. 10 senior staff from the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Centre (IKMAA), including the IKMAA General Director, participated during the study visit. The aim of the study visit was for IKMAA staff to exchange knowledge with their colleagues in the Croatian Mine Action Programme and the CROMAC and to participate during a symposium on mechanical clearance whereas more than 170 Mine Action Stakeholders from all over the world participated. The study visit, amongst other activities, covered the following:

Field visit to demining operations conducted by CROMAC.

Visits to Croatian communities impacted by landmines.

Participating during the CROMAC annual symposium on humanitarian mine clearance. This year the main topic was mechanical clearance. The participants got to see a comparative test between 12 different mine clearance machines. In addition the symposium covered topics such as; tests of personal protective equipment, tests of mine detectors and briefings on new mine clearance technology.

A visit to the CROMAC sub office in Zadar where briefings were given on operational activities, information management and quality assurance and quality control.

A visit to the CROMAC sub office in Zadar where briefings were given on operational activities, information management, quality assurance and quality control, finance and administration, resource mobilization and donor reporting amongst other topics.

A visit to the factory belonging to one of the commercial companies in Croatia manufacturing mine clearance machines.

A visit to a company in Zagreb which is working with aerial pictures and information management.

An official dinner with CROMAC and sightseeing of Zagreb.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Training

One of the activities under this project is EOD training of IKMAA staff. To date many teams have successfully graduated and are operational in Kurdistan Region. The IKMAA EOD Supervisors, EOD Operators, EOD Group Supervisors, EOD Team Leaders were all qualified at the EOD Level 1. and 2 (as per IMAS 9.3 paragraph 4.2), but required a further three weeks of supervised operational deployment in order to qualify as Level 3. EOD Operators (as per IMAS 9.3 paragraph 4.2, (see www.mineactionstandards.org)) , and carry out demolitions in accordance with the requirements laid down in the relevant IMAS. Two EOD Trainers spent four weeks in Kurdistan Region (with arrival through Amman, Jordan to pass the SAIT and thereafter to Erbil, Iraq where the training was carried out at the IKMAA Training Base in Soran in Northern Iraq and conducted EOD training to a Level 3. as per IMAS. The trainers also provided advice and assessed individual skills of IKMAA EOD operators. The Contractor also provided a Project Manager for a period of ten days during the initial period of the contract. Concerning Render Safe Procedures (RSP), focus was on RSP’s of Anti Personal (AP) and Anti Tank (AT) mines. This training was provided under a contractual agreement with SRSA whereas SRSA also provided EOD equipment to IKMAA for free. The total cost for this training was US$ 10,000.

Information Management Training and Planning and Operations Training

During the August 2007 a two-week training course on Information Management Training and Planning and Operations Training was carried out for eight IKMAA staff. The training was carried out by UNOPS in Jordan in cooperation with UNDP, NPA, the Mine Action Centre in South Lebanon, the Mine Action Office in Sudan and SRSA who provided an Information Management trainer at no cost for the duration of the training course. A study visit to NPA clearance operations in Jordan was conducted during the course, which was carried out in Jordan.

The expected outputs of the project are as follows:

The ability of the IKMAA to effectively manage the projects that it implements will be increased, as damaged, unusable, and expired demining equipment will be replaced by up-to-date equipment.

The introduction of supplementary, more efficient clearance technologies will greatly improve the rates of clearance currently being realized within the programme. Complimentary to the training courses on Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training, Information Management Training and Planning and Operations Training will make best use of the financial resources allocated to the programme now and in the future.

At the end of the project it is expected that the IKMAA will have the necessary technical capacity and equipment to accelerate and enhance the on-going clearance activities.

Humanitarian and development goals and priorities are all addressed under this project, and all individuals and communities within the IKMAA area of responsibility stand to benefit from a more efficient and effective mine action programme.

4.3 Key partnerships and collaborations, and explain how such relationships impact on the achievement of results.

Regular meetings with the UNDP Mine Action team have been undertaken since the Project Manager was hired in early December. The Project Manager has also participated during UNDP Cluster A meetings when possible.

Future Work Plan

5.1 Summary of the projected activities up to the end of June 2008.

Monitoring of construction of all items of mechanical equipment by IKMAA logistics staff and UNOPS staff,

Create additional training opportunities for IKMAA staff,

Monitoring of IKMAA procurement of remaining office equipment,

Procurement of two repeater stations for IKMAA in order to improve communications during mine clearance operations,

Accreditation of mechanical demining equipment delivered in May 2008. The machinery that is to be delivered in May 2008 is as follows:

One Front End Loader/sifter;

One Excavator;

One Mobile Workshop;

Quantity of spare parts for one year maintenance and repair for all the above listed machines.

Once delivered the machines will be accredited by IKMAA with support from the UNOPS Field Coordinator.