Tenders for the multi-million Pula brownfield project closed last Wednesday after a three-month window. A brownfield is a project upgrading an existing facility. "Twelve companies submitted bids to be considered for the project," Minerals, Energy and Water Resources officials said last week."The number of all interested parties is unavailable because tender documents were freely available as downloads from the ministry's website."
Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board officials added: "The Ministry will now take the bids for evaluation, before resubmitting to the board for adjudication. How long they will take is up to them, but it will be within the tender validity period". The 300mw power station is expected to start operations in 2016 or 2017, plugging a supply gap already identified by the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). The latest developments have been keenly awaited by local energy sector players desperate for market opportunities and consumers who hope the introduction of IPPs will improve reliability of supply and improve costs.
