TNPA's head office at the Port of Ngqura
South Africa’s Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has issued requests for proposal (RFPs) for the construction of two solar-powered seawater desalination plants and a hybrid renewables-battery facility to service its Nelson Mandela Bay ports, in the Eastern Cape.
TNPA is seeking bidders capable of designing, constructing and operating solar-powered seawater desalination plants with a capacity of 0.8 megalitres and 0.5 megalitres of potable water, respectively, for the ports of Port Elizabeth and Ngqura.
The desalination plants would improve the reliability of freshwater supply for port users and bolster their climate-resiliency, the TNPA said in a statement.
The electricity RFP, meanwhile, is for the design, construction and operation of a 7 MW hybrid renewable-energy plant that has a battery energy storage system of 6 MWh at the Port of Ngqura to support the decarbonisation of port operations and improve the reliability and availability of supply.
Earlier this year, TNPA awarded a R60-million contract for the construction of a water desalination plant at the Port of East London, and acting CEO Advocate Phyllis Difeto confirmed that the State-owned company was aiming to ensure security of utilities supply across all ports by 2029.