The Lesotho Highlands Development Agency (LHDA) today announced the release of a tender for the Design and Construction Supervision of the feeder Roads and Bridges programme to upgrade existing and build new community roads and bridges surrounding and across the new Polihali reservoir that will be formed by the Polihali dam currently under construction in the Maluti mountains of Lesotho.
The overall feeder roads and bridges programme will provide 94.2km of access roads, four pedestrian bridges and six vehicle bridges. This infrastructure will be split into approximately eight different construction contracts of varying values.
“The feeder roads and bridges programme is intended to restore mobility and connectivity between communities that will be separated by the Polihali reservoir,” explained Tente Tente, Chief Executive of the LHDA. “Furthermore, the aim is to split construction work into several packages to spread the available work and enhance opportunities and participation for small to medium-sized Lesotho contractors.”
Tente added that in addition to providing additional jobs during construction and long-term access to economic and social opportunities for local communities, the feeder roads and bridges project will also support long-term tourism sustainability by creating extremely scenic hiking, mountain-biking and driving routes that criss-cross and circle the future Polihali reservoir.
Interested bidders can access the tender documents at https://www.lhda.org.ls/tenderbulletin/currentProcurement.aspx.
A mandatory clarification meeting will be held in Mokhotlong, Lesotho on 07 December. Mandatory site inspections are scheduled for 07 and 08 December in Mokhotlong, Maseru.
The bid submission deadline is 06 February 2024.
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) delivers water to the Gauteng region of South Africa and utilises the water delivery system to generate hydroelectricity for Lesotho. Phase II will increase the current supply rate of 780 million cubic metres per annum incrementally to more than 1 270 million cubic metres per annum. At the same time, it will increase the quantity of electricity generated in Lesotho and is a further step in the process of securing an independent electricity source to meet Lesotho’s domestic requirements and reducing the country’s dependence on imported energy.
