The Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACAA) in African country Eswatini (previously known as Swaziland) wants to power its King Mswati (KM) III International Airport in Sikhupe with a 850 kW solar power system. It has issued a request for qualification (RFQ) round.
The 850 kW system will be a ground mounted PV system and may include an energy storage system if it increases the benefits to the airport.
According to the job description in the tender documents, the authority wants to get a suitable developer to install the project on turnkey basis and connect it to a 11kV underground cable distribution system on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis.
ESWACAA said it is looking for reputable, experienced and multi-disciplined engineering developers who can mobilize funds for project delivery. They would need to ensure 10% of the material is sourced locally.
Selected developer through a project company will sell power from the solar system to ESWACAA under a power purchase agreement (PPA) for 20 years.
Last date to submit documents in response to the tender is December 22, 2020. Shortlisted developers will enter round 2 of the competitive process which will be a request for proposal (RFP).
In October 2019, Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority selected 13 applicants as pre-qualifiers for a 40 MW solar tender it launched in June 2019 (see 13 Names Pre-Qualify For Eswatini 40 MW Tender).