Pre-purchase of Bulk Internet for Government

DIGITAL ZAMBIA ACCELERATION PROJECT

(DZAP

Specific Procurement Notice

Request for Bids

Non-Consulting Services

(Single Stage – Two Envelope)

Purchaser: Smart Zambia Institute (SZI)

Country: Zambia

Name of Project: Digital Zambia Acceleration Project (DZAP)

Contract Title: Pre-Purchase of Bulk Dedicated International Bandwidth Capacity for Government:

• LOT 1: Supply and Delivery of Primary International Internet Capacity (Internet Protocol Transit) for One Government Network

• LOT 2: Supply and Delivery of Secondary (Redundant) International Internet Capacity (Internet Protocol Transit) for One Government Network

Grant No.: P505094

RFB Reference No.: ZM-SZ-547791-NC-RFB

Issued on: 20th May, 2026

• The Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has received grant financing from the International Development Association of the World Bank towards the cost for the Digital Zambia Acceleration Project (DZAP) and Smart Zambia Institute intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under the contract for the pre-purchase of internet capacity. For this contract, the Borrower shall process the payments using the Direct Payment disbursement method, as defined in the World Bank’s Disbursement Guidelines for Investment Project Financing, except for those payments, which the contract provides to be made through letter of credit.

• The Smart Zambia Institute (SZI) now invites sealed Bids from eligible Bidders for the Provision of International Internet Capacity. The services will be delivered nationwide across Zambia. The required Internet capacity is structured into two (2) Lots as follows:

• LOT 1: Supply and Delivery of Primary International Internet Capacity (Internet Protocol Transit) for One Government Network

• LOT 2: Supply and Delivery of Secondary (Redundant) International Internet Capacity (Internet Protocol Transit) for One Government Network

• Bidders may submit proposals for one or both lots; bid evaluation and award will be on individual Lot basis. However, no single bidder will be awarded more than one lot, in order to preserve route diversity.

• Bids from service providers with equivalent licenses in other jurisdictions are also eligible, provided that, if selected, they commit to obtaining the requisite license in Zambia and comply with all applicable regulatory requirements.

• Bidding will be conducted through international competitive procurement using a Request for Bids (RFB) as specified in the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers - Procurement in Investment Projects Financing” Seventh edition, September 2025” (“Procurement Regulations”) and is open to all eligible Bidders as defined in the Procurement Regulations.

• Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from Smart Zambia Institute, office of the Head - Procurement & Supplies Unit (PSU) and inspect the proposal Documents at the address given at the end of this RFP below from 08:00 hours to 13:00 hours and 14:00 hours to 17:00 hours daily from Monday to Friday. Inspection of bids may also be made by examining of the copy of the Bid Document which is available on the Free Access Website Portal for Smart Zambia using the following link: https://www.szi.gov.zm. Official Bids to be used in preparation and submission of official bids may be obtained as provided in paragraph 8 below.

• Bids will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation process set out in the bidding documents. The following weightings apply equally for each Lot; for Rated Criteria (including technical and non-price factors): 20% in compliance with the mandatory requirements for Rated Criteria in the Procurement Regulations, and for Bid Cost: 80%. These weightings are already reflected in the RFP.

• The Request for Bids (RFB) document in English Language may be purchased by interested eligible Bidders upon the submission of a written application to the address below and upon payment of a non-refundable fee of Zambian Kwacha One Thousand (ZMW 1,000.00) or its equivalent in a freely convertible currency. The method of payment will be Bank / electronic transfer or Bank Certified Cheque Foreign bidders will be required to pay an extra amount to cover shipment. This is because the official document is a hard copy. For convenience only, RFB documents is available and can be downloaded for viewing purposes from the following Websites; www.szi.gov.zm.For convenience of preparation of bids, the RFB document will on request be sent by email to interested bidders upon sending proof of payment.

Account Name: SMART ZAMBIA e-GOVERNMENT DIVISION

Account Number: 5733219300210

Bank Name: Zambia National Commercial Bank

Bank Address: Government Complex, P.O. Box 30097, Lusaka

SWIFT Code: ZNCOZMLU

Bank Code: 084

Currency: ZMW

• Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before Thursday, 2nd July 2026, at 10:00 am local time. Electronic Bidding will not be permitted. Late Bids will be rejected. The bids must be submitted on an individual Lot basis, and for each Lot, two (2) sealed, clearly marked envelopes reading Technical Proposal and another marked Financial Proposal must be submitted. These Two (2) envelopes for each separate Lot will be further placed in an Outer Envelope, indicating the Lot Number, Name of the Procurement and Procurement activity Number and name of the bidder. The outer Bid envelopes marked “ORIGINAL BID”, and the inner envelopes marked “TECHNICAL PART” will be publicly opened in the presence of the Bidders’ designated representatives and anyone who chooses to attend, at the address below on Thursday, 2nd July 2026, at 10:00 am local time. All envelopes marked “FINANCIAL PART” shall remain unopened and will be held in safe custody of the Employer until the second public Bid opening.

• All Proposals for each Lot must be accompanied by a separate Bid-Securing Declaration in the format provided in the RFB document in Section IV – Bidding Forms.

• Attention is drawn to the Procurement Regulations requiring the Borrower to disclose information on the successful bidder’s beneficial ownership, as part of the Contract Award Notice, using the Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Form as included in the bidding document.

• The address(es) referred to above is (are):

(a) Address for Inspection, seeking clarifications or information on the Bidding Documents

The Head - Procurement and Supplies Unit

Smart Zambia Institute

ICCC Office Suite, 1st Floor, Corner of Nationalist and Independence Avenue

P.O. Box 31998

Lusaka - Zambia

E-Mail: [email protected]

(b) Address for Bid Submission

The National Coordinator

ICCC Office Suite

Office of the President, E-Government Division,

SMART Zambia Institute,

Corner of Nationalist Road and Independence Avenue

P.O. Box 31998,

Lusaka, ZAMBIA.

(c) Address for Bid Opening

SZI Board room

ICCC Office Suite, 1st Floor, Corner of Nationalist and Independence Avenue

Lusaka - Zambia