NAMIBIA’S power utility, NamPower has awarded Power Line Africa a $40.3 million tender to design and construct the Auas-Gerus transmission line project. The line is expected to cover more than 800km, and will form part of NamPower’s grid lines stretching across Namibia. The Auas-Gerus transmission line project contract period stretches over 18 months. Existing transmission power lines will remain operational during this period and into the future.
The awarding of the tender was announced by the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN). According to the award notification, the multimillion-dollar contract only attracted five companies.
This included Power Line Africa, Optipower (a division of Murray and Roberts Limited), Transrail Lighting Limited, Norinco International Corporation Limited, as well as a joint venture between Sinohydro Corporation Limited and Adaptive Building Land Construction CC. Three of the five companies reportedly made it to the last stage, which then saw Power Africa ahead of China-backed Synohydro-Adaptive Building JV and Norinco.
NamPower intends to construct a 400 KV power line from the Kokerboom substation near Keetmanshoop to the Auas substation near Dordabis. The line is said to be a much-needed bridge to help secure the supply of electricity to Namibia in future, and to open up opportunities for selling power to the Southern African Power Pool.
The company currently owns a transmission system and network of between 132 kV and 400 kV of overhead power lines, spanning a distance of more than 25,000 km – one of the longest in the world and enough to circle a continent. According to NamPower, the national grid has been home-grown – designed and largely built by Namibians – and continuous investments are being made to strengthen and keep it in a superior condition to ensure an efficient and effective network with minimum disruption.