The Msunduzi Municipality council has approved another extension of the Pietermaritzburg Airport maintenance and repair contract. The deadline has been pushed to May 2026 due to a continued lack of suitably qualified contractors capable of managing the facility’s specialised airfield lighting system. For the next six months, the existing contractor will continue providing airfield ground lighting maintenance and repairs on a month-to-month basis, ending on May 9, 2026, while the City’s sustainable development and enterprises business unit finalises the procurement process seeking bids for the new long-term contract.
This marks the third extension of the contract. A report from the bid adjudication committee, tabled at a recent council meeting, states that NTEC PTY (Ltd) had been appointed on a three-year contract beginning in 2022 and ending in February 2025. The service is essential to airport operations and licensing requirements, as fully functional lights are needed for safe landings and takeoffs, especially at night and during poor weather.
Without them, night operations are impossible. NTEC (Pty) Ltd meets the required qualification and licensing requirements. Because the SA Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) mandates that airfield lighting maintenance be performed by personnel with specialised aviation-lighting training, skills not available within the municipality, the business unit has requested more time to complete the procurement process.
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According to the report, the tender has been advertised twice but was cancelled each time due to the absence of responsive submissions. Several bidders lacked the required competency-based training and assessment (CBTA) certification in aviation, while three tenders were disqualified for failing to comply with standard conditions of tender. The report also notes that the current service provider may have also been disqualified, despite meeting all original contract requirements.
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