- AfDB and Eritrean government seek to hire firm for Dekemhare solar project.
- The deadline for applications from consulting firms interested in the tender is February 20, 2023.
The government of Eritrea and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are putting out a call for expressions of interest to hire a consultancy firm as part of the Dekemhare solar project. The consultant is expected to support the appropriate authorities throughout the project, especially during the tendering stage, which includes contract negotiations. The consultant will also help with the supervision of the construction projects as well as the review and approval of detailed designs, EPC contractor construction methods, and technical reports.
The consultant’s responsibilities will go beyond the development phase to include Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) for large pieces of equipment and oversight of the implementation of the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP). The contract will also include the development of the project executing agency’s capabilities, including monitoring, control, solar energy forecasting, and integration into the daily dispatch plan, as well as the operation and maintenance of solar PV and battery storage systems.
The project entails building a 30 MWp solar PV facility outside of Dekemhare, a town located 40 km to the southeast of Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. For the state-owned Eritrean Electricity Corporation’s grid to be stabilized, the facility will be connected to a battery energy storage system (EEC). Additionally, the Eritrean government intends to construct a 500 m transmission line and a 66 kV substation.
The deadline for applications from consulting firms interested in the tender is February 20, 2023. The Dekemhare solar power station is being built in the Debub area as part of Asmara’s strategy to diversify its electrical mix. The East African country is 90% dependent on fossil fuels, notably diesel, for its electricity generation, according to the 2015 report of the International Energy Agency (IEA).