Zimbabwe rejects Indian power bid

Zimbabwe rejects Indian power bid
Published: 30 November 2017
THE Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) and the State Procurement Board (SPB) last week rejected a tender bid by an Indian consortium, ThyssenKrupp Industries in partnership with Technofab Engineering (Private) Limited, which  is vying to refurbish the 70 year old Bulawayo Power Station.

Last month, the consortium emerged as the sole bidder for the project following pre-qualification bidding process by the project financiers, the Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank of India), which extended a US$87 million line of credit to Zimbabwe for the project two years ago.

The loan has a 13-year tenure, a grace period of three years and a repayment period of 10 years at two percent interest rate per annum.

But, The Financial Gazette last week learnt that the Indian consortium's bidding price was higher than the project's budget, resulting in ZPC and the SPB calling for the tender to be re-floated.

The development is likely to further delay the project, which is running under the Office of the President and Cabinet's rapid results initiative (RRI).

Other power projects under the RRI include the Kariba South Power Station expansion project, the proposed Gwanda solar and Tokwe Mukosi mini-hydro project.

ZPC confirmed that ThyssenKrupp Industries in partnership with Technofab Engineering (Private) Limited was the sole bidder, but it did not reveal the consortium's bid price.

"The sole bidder that submitted papers for Bulawayo Power Station repowering (project) was ThyssenKrupp Industries (Pvt) Ltd in joint venture with Technofab Engineering (Pvt) Ltd from India," ZPC said last week.

SPB board chairman, Buzawani Mothobi, was not immediately available for comment.

But, well placed sources at SPB, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Financial Gazette that the consortium failed to meet the tender specification.

It is also understood that the SPB last week agreed with ZPC's position.

"The consortium submitted a bid with a price which was far much higher than the budget for the Bulawayo Power Station project," one source at SPB who is familiar with developments told The Financial Gazette.

"ZPC was not happy with this and this week (last week) recommended that the consortium should not be given the right to undertake the project. SPB did not object to ZPC's recommendation."
- fingaz
Tags: Bulawayo, ZPC,

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