Tender Summary

Objectives

The intended objective of this tender was to engage a qualified contractor to relocate existing boreholes at the Alpha and Zeus substations and supply/install the necessary extraction equipment to transfer groundwater into designated storage tanks. Please note that this tender has been formally cancelled by NTCSA SOC Limited. Consequently, no active procurement objectives exist, and the project has been withdrawn from the bidding cycle.

Scope

The proposed scope covered the physical relocation of borehole infrastructure at two specified substations, alongside the provision, delivery, and installation of pumping and extraction systems required to fill storage tanks. Detailed site boundaries, deliverables, implementation schedules, and acceptance criteria were never finalized due to the cancellation. No further scope documentation will be issued for this specific tender reference.

Technical Requirements

Although specific technical specifications were not published prior to cancellation, compliant execution would typically require adherence to electrical utility infrastructure standards, hydrogeological assessment protocols, and mechanical engineering specifications for submersible pumps, piping networks, and automated control systems. All materials and works would have needed to comply with relevant South African National Standards (SANS), NTCSA health and safety regulations, and substation environmental guidelines. These requirements remain unconfirmed and inactive.

Skills Requirements

Bidders would generally be expected to demonstrate verified expertise in civil and mechanical engineering, borehole drilling and rehabilitation, pump system installation, and commissioning within live high-voltage substation environments. Required credentials typically included relevant trade qualifications, past performance evidence in utility infrastructure projects, and access to specialized technical personnel. As the tender is cancelled, no skill verification, evaluation matrices, or prequalification criteria are currently in effect.

Notes on Unusual or Complicated Terms

Eskom’s Procurement and Supply Chain Tick which Management Procedure 32-1034, Rev 5: This refers to an internal procurement validation framework utilized by Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and its subsidiary entities (including NTCSA). The procedure establishes a standardized approval mechanism to verify that submitted tender prices align with current independent market benchmarks before contract award. In this case, the sole highest-ranked bidder’s quotation failed to meet this market-related pricing threshold, triggering the automatic cancellation of the tender process in accordance with corporate governance and supply chain management policies.