Page 1 Explanation about Centralized Purchasing on Pipes and Water Pipes Fitting in Water Supply Component of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project of World Bank by Cangxi County PMO PPMO: To make the project be smoothly implemented, we planned to adopt the centralized purchasing on the pipes and their fitting schemes in the implementation of water supply component in our county in 2010. Now, we explain the related questions as the following. I. Strong Points of Centralized Purchasing on Water Supply Pipes and Water Pipes fitting (I) Adopting centralized purchasing on the pipes, the CPMO could stipulate the same standards to guarantee the project areas to procure the pipes up to standards and to avoid the risk of using the faulty pipes because of the pursuit of profits by the builders. (II) In the centralized purchasing, we could directly contact with the factories producing pipes and reduce the two intermediate links including sellers and building contractors, and therefore it could effectively lower the price of the pipeline materials and improve the utilization rate of the funds. 53730 v13 Page 2 (III) As the good skills and bad skills of installation workers hired by building contractor are intermingled, it is impossible to ensure the pipes fitting always meet the requirements of specification. Therefore, the centralized purchasing could make the water pipes fitting schemes more perfectly meet the requirements of specification. II. Specific Procedures (I) As the owner, the County PMO adopts the centralized purchasing on pipeline materials up to standards by the NBC before the opening bid of civil works. (II) The technical personnel organized by the County PMO make the planning about the length and size of the required pipes on the spot. (III) The County PMO sends the pipeline materials-supplying plan to the winner factory according to data getting from the measures on the spot and the factory is responsible for carrying the pipes to the project villages (IV) After the pipes are carried to the project areas and are checked and accepted by the project supervisor, the County PMO builds the warehouses in the project areas and sends the special persons responsible for the care. The installation workers get the pipes and fittings according to the actual demand. Page 3 (V) The County PMO settles the accounts with the factory according to the actual delivery list. III. Coordination among County PMO and Project Villages and Contractors of Civil Works Cangxi County Water Resources Bureau is responsible for the implementation of the water supply component in Cangxi County. The bureau has accumulated the relatively abundant experience in the implementation and management of the water supply component because it has adopted the approaches in the implementation of the rural safe drinking water project for many years. The County PMO is responsible for coordinating the relations between the WASH Committee and the contractor of civil works and for the related affairs including making the plans for supplying goods, and carrying out the care of goods, and taking and using of the goods. The Village WASH committee is responsible for organizing the beneficiary villagers to dig and refill the ditches for fixing pipes and the secondary carrying. The pipe supplier and the installation personnel are responsible for supplying pipes, and fixing pipes, and making the planning for the location of buildings (such as gate and valve well) on the water Page 4 supplying pipes, and reporting it to the County PMO and project supervisor. The project supervisor is responsible for checking and accepting the pipe ditch and the pipeline materials and the fitting quality. The civil work contractors are responsible for constructing the buildings on the water supplying pipes according to the planning, and builders will get the required pipes from the local warehouse according to the material requisition. As for the cooperation in work period, the concreted plan about the civil works construction and the pipe fitting will be made at the prophase of construction, and will be put into the contract to be implemented. The County PMO and supervisor are responsible for its supervision and coordination. Cangxi County PMO January, 2010 Page 5