The government of Namibia has awarded Chinese state-owned construction company, China Henan International Cooperation Group US $35.6m tender to construct Tses-Gochas road in Southern Namibia.
Other companies that bid for the Tses-Gochas road contract were also mainly Chinese government-owned companies. They include: China State Construction, Zhongmei Engineering Group, China Jiangxi International, China Geo-Engineering Corporation, Synohydro and Otjomuise JV, and Shanxi Mechanical JV; WBHO Construction, Unik Construction, NCR Joint venture, Avic-International Project Engineering and Shanxi Construction Investment Group.
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Tender award process
According to Roads Authority Chief Executive Officer Conrad Lutombi, The selected company met all the qualification criteria and was the bidder who scored the highest during evaluation, with the lowest rates.
“Due to the nature, size and complexity of this project, the procurement process was conducted through an open international bidding method in accordance with section 30 of the Public Procurement Act. An open international bidding method allows any company, both international and local, to bid for a tender that is within their scope of expertise,” he added.
He further added that the tender award was as per the terms and conditions of the financing agreement between the Roads Authority and KfW of Germany as the funding partner, which dictated that this procurement should involve open international bidding.
“It is also worth to mention that, it is a requirement of foreign contractors to offer skills transfer to local SMEs during the construction of a particular project; and a certain percentage of the total contract amount is allocated to SMEs and subcontractors who are wholly owned and managed by Namibian citizens,” he affirmed.
