Morupule B transmission works due for construction

MBONGENI MGUNI
Staff Writer | Friday July 9, 2010 00:00

 

The 400-kilovolt line from the Morupule B Power Station to the Isang sub-station is one of key works in the 600-megawatt station's development. The transmission line is essential for securing Gaborone's future power supplies as its capacity creates room for the capital city's growth.

The project, estimated at between P150 million and P300 million, involves the installation of towers, transmission lines, conductors and other machinery along the 215-kilometre distance which connects the proposed substation at Morupule B and the Isang sub-station, already under development. This week, highly placed BPC officials told BusinessWeek that awarding of the tender, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, had been postponed following a request to that effect by the African Development Bank.

The AfDB is financing the project under a 153 million Euro (P1.3 billion) 'Morupule B Generation and Transmission Loan' to Government and on-lent to BPC. All tenders financed through the loan are thus subject to the AfDB's Rules of Procedure for Procurement of Goods and Works as well as other standards. 'We made a recommendation during the evaluation of tenders and sent it to the AfDB and they have not approved due to outstanding issues,' an official said. 'It seems likely that the contract will now be awarded in July. When we have resolved the issues they have raised that's when we can say so and so has won.'  According to Merz and McLellan, BPC's engineering consultants for the project, 17 tenders were received for the construction of the transmission line. 'Whilst tender prices varied over a wide range, the bottom third of tender prices received were adjudged to be very competitive,' the company said. 'Tender adjudication is presently in progress and Merz look forward to the implementation stage of the project proceeding on site.'  Information reaching BusinessWeek indicates that the implementation date for the multi-million pula project has already been extended twice before since the initial tender notice was announced on August 13, 2009. Sources close to the project say delays have been around the need to adhere to the financing bank's criteria which were included in the original loan granted to Government. With elements of the main Morupule B Power Station construction also under a US$136 million (P952 million) World Bank loan, it is feared that the critical project could miss its planned January 2012 commissioning date. 'By early 2012, BPC hopes to commission at least one of the four units at Morupule B, with the other four coming in on a stepped progression,' a sources said. 'The window for delays here is very narrow because by 2013, Eskom will cut the country off totally and thus there's no room for mistakes.

'The fact that the project is dependent on World Bank and AfDB funding necessarily means slower decision-making as those institutions have to ensure that their funds are used in accordance with their standards. The worry, however, is that Morupule B will miss the 2012 deadline and the country will either be plunged into darkness or it will have to resort to very expensive and unsustainable diesel-generated power.'

BPC, it is understood, is banking on its Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor, China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC), to fast-track elements of the project which can be controlled locally.

The multi-billion pula Morupule B Power Station project is viewed as Botswana's most viable and sustainable source of short and medium-term power. Various Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are also fine-tuning their projects, which will be critical after 2014 when new mining projects are commissioned.