Malawi govt looks private partners for fibre optic cable

The Malawian government is seeking credible companies to provide international broadband in a public-private partnership (PPP), TradeInvest reported. The project will involve installing and operating a fibre optic cable from Lilongwe to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and onward transit over submarine fibre optic cable. The government plans to utilise a portion of the loan it acquired from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) for the Malawi Regional Communication Infrastructure Programme to fund the broadband project. The government is now inviting pre-qualifying bids from companies.

The pre-qualification process will be conducted according to the World Bank's guidelines for procurements under IBRD loans and IDA credits, and is open to all bidders from eligible source countries, as defined in the guidelines. Only applicants who participate in and pass the pre-qualification process will be requested to bid when the government issues the tender in August. Applications for pre-qualification will close on 16 July.

The government as a party to the PPP agreement intends to use its purchasing power to lower the demand risk of the project and therefore the cost of international broadband connectivity. It also seeks to attract new private sector investment in Malawi's fibre optic telecommunication backbone infrastructure, with the objectives of diversifying international routes and reducing international connectivity prices through increased competition.

The winning bidder will be required to offer a specified menu of international telecommunication services at the virtual landing point to be established in Lilongwe. The designated route for the services is from Lilongwe to the Tanzania Border in Karonga, a distance of about 670 kilometres. Fewer than ten drop-off points in the Malawi leg of the network will be required. The winning bidder will be mandated to supply services to both the government and all requesting telecommunication operators and commercial subscribers in Malawi on a non-discriminatory basis.

June 18, 2012

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