THE national water utility NamWater issued a tender for the construction of experimental desalination plants at Grünau and Bethanie in southern Namibia.
These plants will be powered by renewable energy and membrane technology. The tender, which is open to Namibian companies and joint ventures, was advertised on the company’s website early this month.
The rationale for the proposed project is that Namibia depends heavily on groundwater, and in certain areas, the water quality is not above the required level.
The pilot plants will be used to provide knowledge and skills on how to effectively and efficiently desalinate poor-quality groundwater on a small scale, using hybrid renewable energy technology.
The Adaptation Fund, which was established under the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, has committed US$438 million in 67 countries since 2010 to climate adaptation and resilience activities.
The Desert Research Foundation of Namibia will administer the funds for the projects.
THE state-owned pension fund wants to select private companies that will manage a fund for a residential housing and property portfolio.
According to the advert on the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) website, the tender is part of the fund’s alternative investment portfolio which targets unlisted real estate, private equity and infrastructure.
The successful company will provide management to a fund that will loan money to clients (end-users) to buy houses.
In addition, the GIPF plans to invest part of the funds in core-plus real estate, which has moderate risk. This plan comes at the time of the new regulation (Regulation 13) requiring pension funds to invest 45% of their assets in the country. The tender will close on 27 August 2019.
GERMAN state-owned GIZ plans to establish a training centre which will support upcoming charcoal-making companies and farmers.
This plan was announced by GIZ in an advert placed in the media last week.
There are currently around 650 charcoal producers in the country. The majority of these producers are commercial farmers since charcoal harvesting is not permitted in communal areas.
The high-level panel on the economy recommended that bush harvesting permits be issued to communal farmers, and for the government to assist with the harvesting of charcoal in communal areas.
According to the advert, the successful company will determine training needs for the charcoal industry, and develop a training curriculum. The successful bidder will also be required to develop a business model to operate the training centre beyond December 2020. The tender will close on 2 September 2019.
AS part of its climate-resilient agriculture in vulnerable areas’ initiative, the Environmental Investment Fund has issued a tender for the provision of 18 trucks and rippers.
In an advert placed last week, the fund said the tender is open for national bidding. The acquiring of the trucks is part of the climate resilient agriculture vulnerable extreme northern areas (Crave).
The Crave project is financed by the Green Climate Fund to reduce food insecurity by allowing beneficiaries to acquire abilities to adopt conservation agriculture and climate-resilient agricultural practices to produce food, as well as providing them with access to renewable energy.
