A\u00a0controversial\u00a0R1.2 billion project to build and operate a fibre optic cable network around Pietermaritzburg, in\u00a0KwaZulu-Natal\u00a0will cost\u00a0close to R10 million a\u00a0kilometre.<\/p>\n
This is according to the\u00a0Sunday Tribune<\/a>\u00a0which reported that the amount is almost 50 times the R220,000 a km which the city of Durban paid for its network.<\/p>\n The project would see a 119 kilometre tranche of fibre optic cable installed in the city to provide high-speed internet connectivity.<\/p>\n The Durban paper recently reported that funding for the construction, maintenance and use of the fibre optic network never went out to tender because it was deemed part of a transport contract, the paper said.<\/p>\n The project was awarded to a four month old company, Duziwired, which would see the company\u00a0build and run the fibre-optic cable network for a a fee of R100 million a year over 12 years.<\/p>\n Paris Dlamini, the chairman of the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Commerce, landed and brokered the deal, despite admitting\u00a0“having little or no experience in the telecommunications industry”.<\/p>\n The weekend paper reported on Sunday (1 September) that its internal\u00a0investigation\u00a0revealed that\u00a0in 2011, Durban\u2019s Metroconnect Project\u00a0saw over 700km of fibre optic cable laid to 225 sites across the city.<\/p>\n Citing a source close to Metroconnect, the Sunday Tribune said that competitive pricing structures were used and that the eThekwini Municipality had paid R200,000 a kilometre.<\/p>\n The source claimed that the total cost of Pietermaritzburg\u2019s contract should never have exceeded R300 million, a quarter of the existing contract awarded to Duziwired.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the eThekwini model was adopted in Pietermaritzburg it would be of the order of around R45 million to construct the network in the worst case scenario.”<\/p>\n \u201cIf you consider that they will probably spend R20 million a year on the usage contract over 12 years the total cost would come to R285 million, and that is at its maximum,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n The Sunday Tribune said that eThekwini’s pricing structures were corroborated by executive committee questions raised and answered by the city.<\/p>\n Pietermaritzburg newspaper, The Witness cited\u00a0Msunduzi city manager Nxolisi Nkosi as\u00a0saying that the contract had not been awarded to Duziwired.<\/p>\n However, the Tribune said that publicly available council documents detailed how Nkosi had been instructed to sign a service level agreement with Duziwired and that the contract had all but been concluded.<\/p>\n \u201cIn view of the resolution taken by the council yesterday I am not able to answer you any further. We indicated to you that there was no tender awarded to anyone.”<\/p>\n \u201cYou went on with the story and now you continue to ask questions that relate to the same tender that does not exist in our books. There was no need for us to ask them their rate per km if we have not appointed them,\u201d\u00a0Nkosi told the paper.<\/p>\n Additional evidence seen by the Sunday Tribune indicated that Duziwired has already started talks with subcontractors.<\/p>\n An e-mail, from a company tasked with construction, cited a total cost of R80 million, the paper said.<\/p>\n R1.2 billion fibre optic tender scandal<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n R1.2bn Joburg broadband network ready to go live<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Avoid fibre optic duplicating says industry<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n DFA sets sights on future growth<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Broadband Infraco to boost Limpopo network<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on fibre optic infrastructure<\/h3>\n