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MULTIMILLION EMALANGENI WATER WAYS CONSTRUCTION TENDER

21/09/2022 08:56:00 Mhlengi Magongo

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MBABANE – An opportunity has presented itself for construction firms that hold a valid registration certificate issued by the Construction Industry Council (CIC), category C3.

The Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) has invited suitable, qualified, locally registered, and reputable contractors for the construction of the Ezulwini Power Station water ways access road. This was mentioned by EEC in an invitation for tender documents published by the procurement regulator, the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA) in their website. The Request For Proposal (RFP) can be obtained from both ESPPRA and EEC websites.

Qualified

According to EEC, this tender seeks the appointment of a suitable qualified civil contractor to construct an appropriate access route according to the approved design. The access route must come with a suitable surface finish and drainage systems. EEC said the Luphohlo–Ezulwini hydro-electric scheme was situated at Luphohlo Mountain. This scheme comprises of a reservoir of 23 million cubic metres water storage capacity, 5.6km water ways infrastructure, and a 20MW power station at the foot of Malagwane Hill.

Power

The power station is 500 metres from Mbabane-Manzini Highway and the furthest water ways infrastructure from the power station side is 3km away and is accessed through a snaking, steep gravel road. The access road to water ways structures (penstock, portal valve, adit, and surge), from the power station is in a bad condition due to soil erosion and lack of maintenance.

Erosion

The soil erosion problem will not go away because of the steep slope towards the power station. “This has brought accessibility challenges. Response time to breakdowns is much longer and general inspections of these important, but isolated sites take longer,” EEC said in the document. The local supplier of electricity stated that the route geometric design included road snakes for about 3km from the power station to the surge chamber and the first 400m of the road from the power station (Road RD01) was a 6m wide, two-lane road with a three per cent cross fall. EEC further stated that the rest of the road to audit and surge shaft (Road RD02 and RD03) was 4m wide, single lane road with passing bays and stone pitched trapezoidal storm water drains on one side of the road, with the road having a three per cent cross fall towards the drain.

Bidder

They also mentioned that the bidder was required to provide a brief method statement on how the access road would be constructed. EEC said bidders were required to provide a provisional works program (Gantt Chart), starting from contract signing up to project completion. “In preparing programme of work, the contractor should ensure that areas of work will not remain open longer than required creating unnecessarily hazardous conditions of road users,” said EEC. They further mentioned that a contractor with an average annual value of similar construction work located in Eswatini over the past five years of at least E5 million can submit RFP for the tender. The contractor must also possess experience as main contractor in at least two similar projects located in Eswatini in the last five years (projects to be considered must be at least 70 per cent complete, involve earthworks, layer works, stormwater drainage works, surfacing and must be of a value of at least E5 million).

Equivalent

“A site agent with five years’ experience in works of an equivalent nature and volume, including no less than three years as site agent. (Tenderers to submit with their tender the CV of their proposed Site Agent). “Works of an equivalent nature and volume must involve earthworks, layer works, stormwater drainage works and surfacing and must be of a value of at least E5 million,” said EEC. EEC also added that contractors to submit RFPs should have access of the following equipment; minimum 75KW grader, minimum 100KW dozer, minimum seven-tonne roller, minimum 0.5m3 backhoe, and minimum 5m3 tipper truck. They said the above listed were essential for the project.