Extension of the submission date for bids pertaining to the redevelopment of six ports of entry
1. On the 6th of September 2023, the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi briefed the media on the publication of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to the public for the Re-development of the Six (6) Priority land Ports of Entry (POE) project.
2. The RFP for the project was published on the 3rd of September 2023 wherein interested parties were invited to submit bids on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement by the 4th of March 2024. The RFP was published on the e-tender portal, other government websites and Sunday newspapers.
3. The 6 priority land ports of entry earmarked for re-development are the following:
- Beitbridge - Zimbabwe
- Lebombo - Mozambique
- Maseru Bridge - Lesotho
- Kopfontein - Botswana
- Ficksburg - Lesotho
- Oshoek – Eswatini
4. The re-development of these designated ports of entry is one of the programmes that the Border Management Authority (BMA) and the Department of Home Affairs are pursing on a PPP arrangement to improve the facilitation of people and goods across the ports. The procurement process is therefore subject to the procedures set out in Treasury Regulation 16 for initiating, procuring and concluding PPP projects. Treasury Regulation 16 specifically requires that a PPP project be demonstrably affordable; must result in value-for money for government and transfer substantial technical, operation and financial risks to the Private Sector Contracting Party.
5. The 6 POE project covers the full infrastructure development of each designated port of entry and the provision of required services to support the functioning of the BMA and its stakeholders. In order to ensure that the ongoing operations at each of the designated ports of entry are not interrupted, construction will be undertaken in phased approach.
6. During October and November 2023, potential bidders undertook organised site visits to the six ports of entry to assess the current state of the infrastructure and appreciate the complexity of the work at hand. Therefore, after the site visits several requests were received from the potential bidders to extend the deadline for the submission of proposals.
7. The requests for extension were mainly premised on the following reasons:
- The complexity and the unique nature of the project.
- The time needed for the perspective bidders to raise funds to finance the project under the PPP arrangement.
- The long holiday period between December 2023 and January 2024 which interrupted the consultative work of the potential bidders about the project.
8. Having considered the above, the request has been acceded to, therefore, the submission date of the bids from prospective bidders on the project to Re-develop and redesign the Six Priority land Ports of Entry is therefore extended from the 4th of March 2024 to the 4th of July 2024.
9. The primary rationale for this extension of time is to give an additional opportunity for the private sector to conduct broader consultations with each other and provide the high-quality bids to the government.
Enquiries and media interviews:
Mmemme Mogotsi
Deputy Assistant Commissioner: Communication and Marketing
Email: mmemme.mogotsi@bma.gov.za
Cell: +27 72 856 4288
