Cape Town puts R8 billion foreshore development on standby
The City of Cape Town has cancelled its request for proposals for the development of the Foreshore Freeway Precinct.
In a statement released on Wednesday (18 July), the city said that the decision was made upon receiving legal advice, and that the six bidders were notified of the decision in writing on Friday (13 July).
The Stage 1 bid evaluation process was concluded in February 2018. However, several appeals and objections were lodged that contested the application of the evaluation criteria as set out in the Request for Proposals (RFP) documentation.
“Having received legal advice, the city concluded that a lack of sufficient clarity in the RFP documentation rendered the evaluation criteria vague,” said Lungelo Mbandazayo, the City Manager.
“Procurement processes must be compliant with the rule of law, in particular with Section 217 of the Constitution which governs public procurement. 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.”
Winning bid
In February, the City of Cape Town announced the winner of its bidding process to change the face of the city’s Foreshore district – which is also home to the city’s now infamous ‘unfinished highway’.
The winning bid was ‘Proposal F’, headed by Mitchell Du Plessis Projects, trading as Mitchell Du Plessis Associates (MDA). At the time, the city said that core development costs could reach R8.3 billion, and will take at least a decade to be realised, upon passing all approvals.
Among other things, the MDA proposal covered the completion of unfinished sections of freeway – these are the connections to and from Helen Suzman Boulevard; and the connections to and from the N1 and N2 freeways – and the development of approximately 3,200 market-related residential units and a minimum of 450 affordable residential units.
Read: A look at the winning R8.3 billion bid to change Cape Town’s Foreshore