The designated Minister for Energy and Power, Haja Afsatu Kabba, over the weekend held a conference with bidders for a 15-megawatt generator.
Addressing both international and local bidders at the Electricity House first floor conference hall, Haja Kabba said government had approached its development partners “notably the Wold Bank who kindly agreed to meet a portion of the cost of power on a temporary basis.”
The minister explained to the bidders that for sustainable energy generation, “the government is seeking to identify competent private sector partners who will be responsible for the installation and commissioning of all required facilities at Kingtom.”
She noted that this would also “include procurement of fuel as indicated in the bidding document.”
The minister said, “we expect private operators to be more efficient and take advantage of its leverage position to procure fuel at the least cost, so that government can in turn pass on the benefit to the end user.”
She explained that the mode of operation for the tender document would be pursuant to a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between the supplier and the National Power Authority (NPA).
“Government supports the obligation of the NPA under the proposed Power Purchase Agreement and has committed to sign a Government Support Agreement,” she said.
The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr A. Koroma gave an overview of government’s support agreement, which was followed by questions with regards to the drafted tender document.
The bidders, together with NPA staff, then made an assessment tour of the Kingtom site.
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