The City has made an about-turn on requests for proposals for the development of the Foreshore Freeway Precinct, which includes the completion of the unfinished sections of Helen Suzman Boulevard and the connections to and from the N1 and N2 freeways.
In February the City of Cape Town announced a qualifying bidder and their proposal entailed, among others, a combination of about 3200 market-related residential units and a minimum of 450 affordable residential units.
The core development area is City-owned land, and was about 6 hectares in size. It is located under the existing Foreshore freeway between the northern edge of the central business district and the Cape Town harbour.
City manager Lungelo Mbandazayo said that after receiving legal advice, they had decided to cancel the request for proposals, and bidders were notified in writing last week.
Mbandazayo said he sought the advice after the City received appeals and objections against the outcome of stage 1 of the bid evaluation process in February.
“Thus, the lack of sufficient clarity in the evaluation criteria of the RFP (request for proposals) was not known to the City at the outset, and came to light when raised during the statutory appeal period which followed after the bid evaluation committee announced the qualifying bidder.
“According to the legal advice I have received, the request for proposals document lacked sufficient clarity, which rendered the evaluation criteria vague,” Mbandazayo said.
Procurement processes must be compliant with law, in particular with section 217 of the constitution, which governs public procurement, he said. There must be no doubt about the integrity of these processes and, as such, “I have decided to cancel the RFP”.
“Furthermore, the economic outlook for the country has become significantly weaker since the issuing of the RFP two years ago. This change, together with the additional burdens that the City, its ratepayers and residents are facing at the moment, cannot be ignored. The City is, therefore, reconsidering the future of this project, and we will communicate further once a decision has been made,” Mbandazayo said.
Last year, proposals for the precinct exhibition went on public display at the Civic Centre, and received mixed reviews. It was expected that the building work could begin in 2020, subject to the successful completion of the stage 2 process, and all mandatory property disposal, development and other statutory processes, and approvals.