Addis Abeba City Administration has resolved the elevator procurement saga, which has been lingering for the past three years, cancelling the bid and transferring the mandate to the city procurement agency.
For the past three years, the Addis Abeba Saving Houses Development Enterprise (AASHDE) has been processing a procurement of 338 elevators for the housing units it has been constructing under the middle-income housing schemes. It has floated the tender twice after cancelling the initial tender at the technical evaluation stage. However, lately, the mandate was transferred to the Public Procurement & Property Disposal Agency (PPPDA), following the disagreement that transpired between the Enterprise and one of the bidders Dan Lift Technology Plc.
The initial tender was floated by the Enterprise three years ago. Dan Lift Technologies, Syntec Ethiopia Plc and Yobek Electrical Enterprises were the three companies which showed interest in the first tender. But, none of them passed the technical evaluation; therefore, the tender was cancelled. It was then refloated under five lots a year ago.
The second attempt of the procurement, which could cost the city administration close to 400 million Br, managed to attract 12 local and foreign companies during the second attempt. However, four of them, Sintec Ethiopia Plc, CCCC, Tsemex and Dabe Engineering, passed the technical evaluation leaving Dan Lift behind for failing to present CE Certificate, a European conformity requirement. The technical specification was prepared by the Addis Abeba University Department of Construction Technology & Management.
“The certificate works only in Europe; it does not apply to Ethiopia,” Daniel Mebrhatu, CEO of Dan Lift, told Fortune. His company has been in the business since 1999 and has provided over 700 elevators.
Discontented with the result of the technical evaluation, Dan has lodged a complaint letter to the Enterprise asserting the certificate is only applicable to members states of the European Union. Following the Enterprise’s rejection of its complaint, Dan Lift lodged its grievance to the Office of the Prime Minister, City Administration and Federal Anti-Corruption Commission.
Anti-Corruption Commission has recommended the Enterprise to re-consider the bidding process stating such kinds of incidence might discourage local manufacturers, according to a source from the Commission.
Addis Abeba City Finance & Economic Development Bureau, which later intervened in the case, has cancelled the bid. The cancellation was approved by a board, which was formed to oversee the progress of the middle-income house scheme. The board is chaired by Abate Sitotaw, deputy mayor of the city. The Bureau has also ordered the city procurement agency to handle the case and refloat the bid.
The City Procurement Agency is in the final stage of refloating the bid, according to Atnafu Abebe, acting director at the Agency.
For the 38,000 housing units the Enterprise had been constructing since 2013, within 371 buildings, 160,000 home seekers had registered to receive homes. Last year for the first time, the Enterprise transferred 876 housing units 17 buildings located in Senga Tera and Crown sites.
Fortune‘sattempt to get clarification from the Enterprise bore no fruit.
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