The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is hoping to announce the winner of its multibillion-rand customs scanner tender with the next few days, while the winners of two other large SARS tenders should be revealed within the next few weeks.
SARS CIO Ken Jarvis says a review of the entire process for awarding the R1.5 billion to R2 billion customs scanners tender is under way, and the results of the adjudication should be tabled before the SARS executive committee within days.
Jarvis reveals that SARS received five expressions of interest for the tender, which will see the installation of 12 container scanners at Durban harbour. Three bidders were short-listed in December last year.
This project is in line with its responsibilities to monitor and facilitate trade, as well as for Durban harbour to adhere to the security requirements of the global container security initiative.
This initiative, explains Jarvis, was implemented after the 11 September attacks, and will deem Durban a "safe" harbour for exports to the US.
It is expected that the first scanner will be installed during the third quarter of this year, and will run off an integrated solution that includes a risk-profiling engine to identify which items should be scanned, he says.
Durban harbour presently operates only one scanner, which belongs to the National Ports Authority.
Attracting interest
Jarvis says the winner of a second tender - a multimillion-rand project for the replacement of data and voice networks within SARS - should be announced before the end of this month.
This tender, whose value SARS has refused to specify publicly, attracted eight expressions of interest from major players in SA's IT industry.
"We are close to a decision. A winner should be announced before the end of March," Jarvis comments.
Work on this project is scheduled to start during July.
The third big SARS tender in the adjudication phase is for the modernisation of its tax and customs business, products and systems.
This tender, announced in December, sparked much international interest, notes Jarvis. Up to its closing date in mid-February, this R750 million tender attracted interest from 78 local and international groups.
In total, SARS received expressions of interest from three consortiums, some of which comprise up to 10 local and foreign companies.
"The number of expressions of interest received for this tender met our expectations. This is a fairly complex project and we need to evaluate it properly and make sure the proper procedure is adhered to," Jarvis says.
Preferred bidder
He estimates that SARS should announce a preferred bidder within the next six to eight weeks, and the revenue service would then enter into discussions with this party.
However, provisions have been made to allow for two preferred bidders to be selected if the results of the adjudication process prove very close. In this case, says Jarvis, SARS would enter into negotiations with both parties before a final winner is chosen.
No date has yet been set for work to start on the modernisation tender, as the winner will first be required to carry out a due diligence, present a roadmap and proof of concept.
"We don't expect the actual work on this project to start before the second quarter of 2007," Jarvis states.
All three tenders are part of the SARS "roadmap to 2010" strategy, aimed at positioning the revenue service as an innovative revenue and customs agency that enhances economic growth and social development.
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