Objectives

The primary objective is to enhance municipal security and vehicle monitoring through a centralised Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system deployed at six strategic entrances. Specific goals include:

• Automatically identifying vehicles entering and exiting monitored locations.
• Providing real-time alerts and searchable historical records to support security investigations.
• Improving situational awareness, incident response, and authorised personnel access to detection data.
• Enabling centralised management, secure auditable access, and lawful information sharing.
• Ensuring a scalable, resilient architecture operating 24/7 with full compliance to data privacy legislation.

Scope of Work

The service provider must deliver a complete turnkey solution encompassing project management, site surveys, technical design, civil works, and end-to-end implementation. The scope includes:

• Hardware & Infrastructure: Supply, delivery, installation, and commissioning of a minimum of 12 dedicated ANPR cameras (two per entrance), mounting structures, network equipment, power systems (including UPS, solar/battery where grid power is unreliable), and surge/lightning protection.
• Software & Platform: Provision of ANPR processing software, a centralised management platform, storage solutions, software licences, and integration capabilities with existing CCTV infrastructure, GIS, and API endpoints.
• Services: Cybersecurity configuration, network segmentation, acceptance testing, comprehensive training for ICT and security personnel, detailed documentation, and a five-year maintenance period covering preventative/corrective repairs, technical support, and system upgrades.
• Implementation Phases: Ten structured phases from initiation and pilot deployment to full rollout, integration, testing, handover, and ongoing maintenance.

Technical Requirements

Bidders must meet stringent technical specifications across all system components:

• Cameras: Minimum 4MP resolution, dedicated ANPR functionality, day/night operation, integrated IR illumination, minimum 120 dB WDR, automatic exposure/gain, H.264/H.265 compression, minimum 25 fps, local storage, edge processing capability, PoE/DC power, HTTPS/TLS encryption, tamper detection, IP66 rating, and vandal-resistant construction suitable for outdoor KwaZulu-Natal conditions.
• Recognition & Detection: Must accurately recognise South African registration plates (all formats, reflective, front/rear, varying lighting). Each detection must generate metadata including plate number, timestamp, location, direction, lane, images, confidence score, vehicle classification, colour, make/model, and GPS data.
• Network & Power: Complete communication infrastructure provision supporting temporary outages via local buffering and automatic synchronisation. Dedicated/segmented networks with VLANs, firewalls, and no direct internet exposure. Detailed power-budget calculations per site, with solar/battery/UPS alternatives where grid reliability is insufficient.
• Central Platform & Features: Single-interface management for all six sites, supporting live events, partial/wildcard vehicle searches, movement history, configurable watchlists, multi-channel real-time alerts, GIS mapping, role-based access control, multi-factor authentication, comprehensive audit logging, and evidence management.
• Data & Security: Configurable retention periods with automatic deletion and legal hold capabilities. Full compliance with data privacy legislation, encrypted communications, secure backup and disaster recovery procedures (defining recovery point/objective targets), and strict data ownership clauses prohibiting commercial use by the supplier.
• Performance & Warranty: Guaranteed 99.5% monthly system availability, minimum three-year hardware warranty, and successful completion of formal acceptance testing under actual traffic conditions.

Skills and Experience Requirements

Service providers must demonstrate proven capability in complex surveillance deployments:

• Documented evidence of at least three comparable ANPR system implementations, including project scope, camera quantities, dates, contract values, and client references.
• Expertise in conducting technical site surveys, civil engineering works, and designing robust network and power architectures for remote or semi-remote locations.
• Proficiency in integrating ANPR platforms with existing Video Management Systems (VMS), GIS tools, and third-party APIs.
• Strong project management skills capable of executing a ten-phase rollout, including pilot testing, stakeholder training, and formal handover processes.
• Compliance with South African public procurement regulations, including active national supplier database registration, tax compliance verification, and submission of a five-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) breakdown.

Key Technical and Regulatory Terms

• ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition): Optical character recognition technology that captures and reads vehicle license plates from video footage to automate vehicle identification and tracking.
• POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act): South African data privacy legislation classifying vehicle registration numbers as personal information, mandating strict controls on data collection, storage, access, and deletion.
• Edge Processing: Performing data analysis and plate recognition directly on the camera or local hardware rather than transmitting raw video to a central server, significantly reducing bandwidth usage and latency.
• PPPFA 80/20 Preference System: A procurement evaluation framework allocating 80 points to competitive pricing and 20 points to historically disadvantaged ownership categories (e.g., Black persons, women, disabled persons).
• CSD (Central Supplier Database): A mandatory national repository managed by National Treasury where all entities bidding for South African government contracts must be registered and verified.