SAFE ROADS TO PROSPERITY

MEDIA RELEASE (FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) 11 May 2023

PRE-QUALIFICATION FOR THE REHABILITATION OF TR 7/1 (USAKOS-KARIBIB ROAD), ERONGO REGION

The Roads Authority (RA) hereby wishes to give clarity on the prequalification process of Contractors for the rehabilitation of TR 7/1 (Usakos-Karibib road) in the Erongo Region.

TR 7/1 forms part of the Trans Kalahari Highway (B2 highway) and it is of national and international importance as it links to the Port of Walvis Bay. The rehabilitation and upgrading is a continuation of the construction of 2 + 1 lanes from the Okahandja-Karibib road which will continue up to Swakopmund, and connect to DR Hifikepunye Pohamba Freeway.

This project will be financed through a Germany Financial Cooperation with Namibia under the NDP5 support programme. In line with Financial Cooperation, a loan agreement was signed on 13 December 2022 between KfW Development Bank of Germany and the Government of Namibia represented by the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises and RA as a project executing Agency. Accordingly, the tender process is subjected to the inclusion of KfW tender rules and regulations, hence exemption was given by the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises to allow for such inclusion in the procurement process by the RA.

Due to the complex and high technical nature of the works, RA carried out pre-qualification proceedings, in line with Section 42 of the Public Procurement Act, 2015 (Act No. 15 of 2015), as amended. Furthermore, Open International bidding was used in line with Annexure 2 of the Public Procurement Regulation and as per the procurement requirement of KfW.

The invitation for the Pre-qualification proceedings was done publicly through the local print media from 14 – 16 September 2022. The invitation was open for both Local and Foreign companies to submit their applications for prequalification in line with the set criteria. There was also a pre-bid meeting held on 15 September 2022. The deadline for submission for the application for the Pre-Qualifications was 24 November 2022, 10h00 am.

The RA received a total of 17 applications and the evaluation for the pre-qualification proceedings commenced shortly after the deadline. The evaluation of the 17 applications was done in accordance with the criteria outlined in the documents that were issued to the bidders and it was concluded on 16 December 2022.

The evaluation for the prequalification and also as approved by KfW, through their No Objection, concluded that seven (7) of the 17 applicants met the set requirements for prequalification, and will be invited to submit their bids. As per the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, bidders who did not meet the set criteria were given opportunity through the seven (7) days standing period to raise their objection in line with the ground for disqualification. Thus far, the RA has not received an objection on the outcome of the Prequalification evaluation proceedings.

The Executive Summary of the prequalification evaluation process was shared with all bidders, and is still accessible on the RA website www.ra.org.na.

It must be noted that the RA is committed to the empowerment and promotion of participation of local Contractors in all our road construction projects in line with Section 2 of the Procurement Act. Therefore, it has been agreed with KfW to create four (4) separate bills for works to be executed by local Namibian owned Contractors and SME Contractors. It is a project specification/ requirement that the Seven (7) Pre-Qualified Bidders must submit their bids in partnership with 4 Local Bidders. The value of works reserved for Bidders is set at 25% of the Total Contract Amount.

Furthermore, it is estimated that a total of 500 employment opportunities for Namibians will be created during the construction phase.

The RA takes pride in being one of the leading organizations in Namibia in the development of Local Contractors. The appointment of Contractors in all road construction and maintenance projects is done in a fair and transparent manner and we strictly adhere to the Public Procurement Act.

We will continue to empower Local Contractors in building local capacity to contribute to the efforts of our Government’s commitment to create employment opportunities and alleviate poverty.

Issued by:

Mr Conrad Mutonga Lutombi CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Enquiries:

Hileni Fillemon

MANAGER: CORPORATE COMMUNICATION Tel no.: +264 61 284 7059 Email: fillemonh@ra.org.na