MNWAP E3.6BN PROJECT DEADLINE IN 7 WEEKS

SIPHOFANENI – The deadline for the Construction of the Mpakeni Dam and Associated Works including the Permanent Access Road is in seven weeks.

This was mentioned by the Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (ESWADE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sam Sithole.
Sithole said the government of Eswatini received financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB) towards the cost of the Mkhondvo- Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Project (MNWAP). He said AfDB intends to apply part of the proceeds towards payments under the contract for Construction of the Mpakeni Dam and Associated Works including the Permanent Access Road.

The CEO said all bids must be accompanied by a bid security of E56 000 000. Sithole said an Open Competitive Bidding International (OCBI) procurement method would be used in this contract. This means both local and international companies can bid for the tender. “ESWADE now invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the Construction of the Mpakeni Dam consisting of a clay core rockfill embankment dam 52m high. The dam will have 1 800 000m3 earth/rock/clay fill and 35m wide rectangular spillway with a plunge pool, intake tower with elevated intakes and 2x2D bottom outlets.

Consists

“It also consists of the construction of the Mpakeni Dam Permanent Access Road consisting of 15km single carriage double lane bitumen sealed road to the Mpakeni Dam site in the Shiselweni Region in Eswatini, for a construction period of 51 months,” he said. The CEO emphasised that attention should be drawn to the procurement framework requiring the borrower to disclose information on the successful bidder’s beneficial ownership, as part of the contract award notice, using the beneficial ownership disclosure form as included in the bidding document.

The contractor to be awarded the MNWAP contract will profit five per cent from the project. MNWAP involves the transfer and storage of irrigation water from the Mkhondvo River to the Ngwavuma River via the construction of a network of three dams (Mpakeni on the Ngwavuma River, Mahamba and Ethemba Dams on the Mkhondvo River) together with diversion system and conveyance scheme. Project funds are spent essentially in the country and location where the project takes place. This was mentioned by ESWADE CEO Sithole in an exclusive interview with this publication.
Sithole said in such a case, only the profits accrue to the investor while the expenditure occurs in the country of operation.

“In the case of the Mpakeni Dam under the Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Project (MNWAP), the funds will be spent on the construction of the project while the profits will go to the companies undertaking the work,” he said. The CEO mentioned that the funds would circulate in the country and the project area and surround specifically in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) for goods and services coming from SACU countries like South Africa. “As more goods and services are sourced from the SACU region, Eswatini directly benefits from such funds since Eswatini is a member of SACU and receives most of its revenues from SACU,” he said.

Clarified

ESWADE expert Engineer Enock Dlamini clarified that the over E3 billion tender was non-exclusive but an open tender, about two months ago.
This was after a tender acquisition raised concerns on the prioritisation of local companies. Bidders for the time were companies from Turkey, China and South Africa. The tender was for the construction of the dam and associate works including the dam’s permanent access roads. Worth noting, both local and international companies have acquired tenders locally and companies were evaluated with the assistance of the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA).

Dlamini said local companies were given a chance to bid for the tender and when evaluated, they did not qualify to execute the tender. He said the tender was open to both local and international companies as it was non-exclusive. “Bids from international companies were allowed because the project was also funded by international institutions,” he said. Dlamini mentioned that funding was received from AfDB and government.

Commenced

He said prequalification of contractors commenced in 2021 and the Prequalification process followed AfDB Procurement Guidelines & ESPPRA Act. “The procurement guidelines of AfDB state that tenders funded by their bank should be open to both international and local companies,” he said. He said they then compiled a Prequalification Evaluation Report which was completed May and no objection was obtained from AfDB. Dlamini added that they planned to launch tenders for Mpakeni Dam and Access Road Construction from June this year. He said the tender adjudication and contract award for Mpakeni Dam and Access Road would be tendered on August 2022 and the Mpakeni Dam and Access Roads Construction tender were to commence in September or October 2022.

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