Durban – The the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has sought to explain the process followed with the recent awarding of tenders after there was public backlash over the companies that received the contracts being foreign owned.
This comes after the Sanral board announced it had awarded four tenders worth more than R10 billion.
On November 6, Sanral announced that it had awarded four of the five tenders that were cancelled in June this year.
According to the report, the tenders are:
- N2 Mtentu Bridge awarded to CCCC MECSA JV – R4 050 000;
- N3 Ashburton awarded to CSC Base Major JV – R2 442 322 651;
- R56 Matatiele awarded to Down Touch Investments – R1 230 678 837;
- N2/N3 EB Cloete Interchange awarded to CSC Base Major JV – R5 023 458 797.
In a statement on Wednesday, Sanral noted that South African law did not prohibit any foreign company from doing business in the country.
It added that it was compelled by law to award to any entity whose performance in the tender process meets the compliance requirements and is the best in terms of relevant points and price.
“Ultimately, it is the quality of a bid that wins a tender and not the nationality of the bidder(s). Following a fair, open and competitive process, the contracts for all four tenders were awarded to the tenderers which submitted the highest scoring eligible bids,” said the statement.
It confirmed that the three of the tenders were awarded to two firms, China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSC).
Sanral said both firms were registered on the Construction Industry Development Board register and the National Treasury’s Central Supplier Database.
“Both firms also submitted valid BBBEE (broad-based black economic empowerment) certificates, and both firms, as part of their respective joint ventures with South African-based partner companies, complied with all applicable procurement regulations.
“These SA companies are free to form joint ventures with any other company, either locally or internationally,” the statement said.
Sanral board chairperson Themba Mhambi said that after fighting so hard to prioritise economic development opportunities for black subcontractors on these tenders before they were initially cancelled, it stood to reason that the parastatal would continue to advance developmental opportunities that would allow black businesses to participate meaningfully in the economy.
“To this end, as with any Sanral contract, the winning bidders must comply with the mandatory local content requirement which in this case includes 100% procurement of SA steel and cement, as well as all applicable regulations and legislation, particularly environmental, labour and health and safety requirements. All contracts have stipulated minimum contract participation goals (CPG) for local labour and targeted enterprises (SMMEs),” he said.
Sanral said while infrastructure development was instrumental in the country’s economic recovery post-Covid-19, it went beyond simply creating jobs.
“It should be highlighted that both the Mtentu Bridge and EB Cloete Interchange are technically highly complex and challenging projects requiring applicable mega-bridge construction expertise and experience. The Chinese construction industry is one of the leaders in mega-bridge building in the world today,” the statement said.
Mhambi added that Sanral was mindful of South Africans’ concerns about the integrity of the procurement process, given the magnitude of the contract.
“As such, a due diligence process was conducted. In this instance, the probity test has not raised any red flags that would have disqualified the winning bidders,” Mhambi said.