The tender awarded by the Windhoek municipality to install and maintain its new alarm receiver system is worth N$18 million over five years.
City of Windhoek spokesperson Lydia Amutenya confirmed this amount on Friday, after The Namibian reported that the city is implementing a mandatory system to connect buildings to its emergency control room.
Once fully implemented, the city will receive about N$27 million annually in municipal fees for the use of the system.
“Based on the city’s preliminary assessment, about 3 000 buildings and premises may fall within the categories required to connect to the fire alarm receiver system,” Amutenya said.
The alarm receiver system is designed to improve the speed of the city’s emergency response services.
Buildings will be required to connect their alarms to its emergency control room, automatically alerting the city of fires.
Buildings such as hotels, hospitals and dormitories will be required to connect to the new system, as well as buildings with basement parking or a floor area greater than 500 square metres.
Each property owner is required to pay the municipality a monthly fee of N$750.
Once all buildings are connected, Windhoek will receive N$27 million annually to maintain the alarm system.
The fire alarm receiver system was gazetted as part of new fire regulations in September 2023.
The city launched a ‘targeted engagement campaign’ in July, reaching out to businesses to discuss the new regulation, Amutenya said.
So far, the city has told 300 of the estimated 3 000 businesses about the new regulations.
“A number of fire safety-conscious businesses were already connected to the system, while others have engaged with the city and are in the process of upgrading or rectifying their fire detection and alarm systems to meet the necessary requirements,” she said.
Generic Electronic Solutions (GES) has been awarded the tender to install and maintain the fire alarm receiver system over the next five years.
The tender was advertised in September 2024.
“GES participated in a competitive public procurement process undertaken by the City of Windhoek.
Following the evaluation process, GES was determined to be the responsive and compliant bidder that met the technical and contractual requirements,” Amutenya said.
GES owner Jacques Koekemoer says countries such as Germany, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates have similar fire alarm systems.
“[In Germany] buildings required to have a fire detection system must connect it to the fire brigade’s control centre through a concession holder appointed by the city, with fees fixed in the tender and other approved installers free to fit their own transmitters,” he says.
He says transmitters would cost N$2 000 and installation would involve a once-off fee of between N$500 and N$950.
He has not provided a breakdown of the tender award.
“The commercial terms of our agreement with the city are confidential, and the procurement record is the city’s to release, so we are not able to split that figure for you,” Koekemoer says.
