Lease of 4 water tankers with operators – 3 months | TRANSNET port terminals richards bay

Closing date: 08 October 2026

Closing time: 12:00

Clarification queries deadline: 07 October 2026 at 12:00 (submit to RFQ reference TPT/2026/10/1292/12347/RFQ)

Issue date: 05 October 2026

Bid validity: 180 business days from closing date

Enquiries – Bidding procedure: contact person not named in document; email not provided; telephone not provided.

Enquiries – Technical: contact person not named in document; email not provided; telephone not provided.

Complaints: email [email protected] (Transnet SCM Complaints Office).

Submission portal: https://esupplierportal.transnet.net/portal/

Bidder guide: transnetetenders.azurewebsites.net

Delivery/service address: Transnet Port Terminals, Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal.

Submission method: Transnet e-Tender Submission Portal (https://esupplierportal.transnet.net/portal/).

Closing date and time: 08 October 2026 at 12:00.

No late submissions accepted; Transnet recommends submitting at least one day before the deadline.

Each company must register its own profile and submit through that profile; no bidder may submit on behalf of another company.

Joint ventures may use any JV partner's registered profile.

Pricing must be entered electronically in the portal; no paper pricing schedules accepted.

Upload limit: 30 MB per upload, multiple uploads permitted.

All returnable documents must be signed, stamped and dated by the authorised respondent.

Mandatory returnable documents (failure to submit disqualifies the bid):

• SBD 1 (Invitation to Bid) – completed and signed.
• Company registration.
• Experience in supplying water tankers (minimum three purchase orders with reference letters on client letterhead, not older than 12 months).
• Equipment availability and reliability proof (logbooks, signed lease agreements, service records for the four water tankers; service records not older than three years).
• Operators' qualifications (four valid driver's licences and four valid specialised equipment certificates for water tanker operation).
• Geographical location proof (tribal letter from local chief confirming citizenship, business owner's ID number, company name, and proof of office within 50 km radius of Transnet Port Terminals Richards Bay – title deed, valid lease agreement or municipal bill not older than three months).
• Section 4: Quotation Form (pricing populated on the system).

Returnable documents used for scoring (missing documents score zero but do not disqualify):

• Valid proof of compliance with specific goals (Section 6).
• Company registration.
• Experience in supplying water tankers.
• Equipment availability and reliability.
• Operators' qualifications.
• Geographical location.

Essential returnable documents (Transnet may allow a further opportunity to submit; failure thereafter may disqualify):

• Section 5: Certificate of Acquaintance with RFQ Documents.
• Section 6: RFQ Declaration and Breach of Law Form.
• Section 7: Protection of Personal Information.
• Section 1: SBD 1 Form.

Disqualification risks:

• Any mandatory returnable document omitted or unsigned.
• Bid submitted after closing time.
• Bid submitted through another company's profile.
• Failure to provide a valid letter of good standing for industrial cleaning/plant hire.
• Material deviation from the prescribed pricing schedule.

Evaluation follows a six-step methodology:

Step 1 – Administrative and Substantive Responsiveness: bid lodged on time; all returnable documents completed, returned and valid; bid document signed by authorised respondent; general and legislative qualification criteria met; priced offer included; bid materially complies with scope/specification; company registration provided; valid letter of good standing for industrial cleaning/plant hire submitted (failure disqualifies).

Step 2 – Technical/Functionality Threshold (minimum 80/100 points):

• Experience in supplying water tankers (30 points): 3+ purchase orders with reference letters = 30; 2 purchase orders = 15; 1 purchase order = 10; none = 0. Reference letters on client letterhead, not older than 12 months.
• Equipment availability and reliability (20 points): all required documents (logbooks, signed lease agreements, service records for the same water tankers) = 20; incomplete = 0. Proof of ownership or lease agreement with effective/end dates, lessee and period; service records not older than three years.
• Operators' qualifications (20 points): full compliance (four valid driver's licences + four valid specialised equipment certificates) = 20; non-compliance = 0.
• Geographical location (30 points): office within 50 km radius of Transnet Port Terminals Richards Bay = 30; 51–60 km = 10; 61–70 km = 5; above 70 km = 0. Proof via tribal letter, business owner ID, company name, and title deed/lease/municipal bill (not older than three months).

Total technical weighting: 100 points. Minimum qualifying score: 80 points. Scores rounded to two decimal places.

Step 3 – Price and Specific Goals (80/20 preference point system):

• Price (80 points): Ps = 80 × (1 – (Pt – Pmin) / Pmin), where Pt = bid price, Pmin = lowest acceptable bid price.
• Specific Goals (20 points): B-BBEE Status Level of Contributor (10 points) + 50% Black Youth Owned Entities (10 points). Failure to submit proof means no points claimed.

Step 4 – Price Negotiation (if applicable): Transnet may negotiate with highest-ranked bidder, then sequentially with 2nd and 3rd ranked, to achieve market-related price; may cancel RFQ if no agreement.

Step 5 – Objective Criteria (if applicable): Transnet reserves right to award to other than highest scorer based on stated objective criteria.

Step 6 – Award and Contract Conclusion: Letter of Award issued; acceptance constitutes final contract read with RFQ response and Standard Terms and Conditions.

Validity period: 180 business days from closing date (excluding first day, including last day); may be extended on same terms.

Scope: Acquisition of four (4) water tankers for a three-month service lease agreement for Transnet SOC Ltd (Transnet Port Terminals, Richards Bay).

Quantities: 4 water tankers.

Contract period: Three (3) months.

Equipment requirements: Bidder must prove availability of four water tankers via logbooks, signed lease agreements (showing effective/end dates, lessee and period) and service records (not older than three years) for the exact tankers to be deployed.

Operator requirements: Four operators, each holding a valid driver's licence and a valid specialised equipment certificate for water tanker operation.

Experience requirement: Minimum three purchase orders with supporting reference letters on client letterhead (not older than 12 months) demonstrating successful delivery of water tanker leasing and client satisfaction.

Geographical requirement: Bidder's office must operate within 50 km radius of Transnet Port Terminals Richards Bay; proof via tribal letter from local chief confirming citizenship, business owner's ID number, company name, and title deed/valid lease agreement/municipal bill (not older than three months).

Letter of good standing: Valid letter of good standing relating to industrial cleaning/plant hire mandatory; failure to provide disqualifies the bid.

Security clearance: Successful bidder, its personnel and subcontractors may be required to obtain security clearance to CONFIDENTIAL/SECRET/TOP SECRET level; responsibility of the bidder.

Legal review: Proposed contractual terms subject to review and acceptance/rejection by Transnet Legal Counsel before award.

ESG information: Transnet may request ESG standing information at any stage (not used for evaluation/disqualification).

Sub-contracting due diligence: Transnet may conduct due diligence on sub-contractors to detect fronting.

Experience: Minimum three purchase orders with supporting reference letters on client letterhead (not older than 12 months) proving successful water tanker leasing and client satisfaction.

Equipment proof: Logbooks, signed lease agreements (effective/end dates, lessee, period) and service records (not older than three years) for the four water tankers to be deployed.

Operators: Four valid driver's licences and four valid specialised equipment certificates for water tanker operation.

Geographical presence: Office within 50 km of Transnet Port Terminals Richards Bay; proof via tribal letter, business owner ID, company name, and title deed/lease/municipal bill (not older than three months).

Letter of good standing: Valid letter for industrial cleaning/plant hire mandatory.

Pricing basis: Delivered nominated destination, South African Rand inclusive of VAT.

Submission: Electronic only via eSupplier portal; no paper schedules.

Format: Must follow prescribed price schedule; deviation may disqualify.

Rounding: Final pricing scores rounded to two decimal places.

Price evaluation: Ps = 80 × (1 – (Pt – Pmin) / Pmin).

Market-related price negotiation: Transnet may negotiate with top three ranked bidders sequentially; may cancel RFQ if no agreement.

Discounts: Only unconditional discounts considered in final evaluation.

Disbursements: Unpriced disbursements not accepted.

Delivery lead-time: Bidder to state lead-time from purchase order date (days/weeks).

Pricing: All prices in South African Rand, inclusive of VAT, on a "delivered nominated destination" basis. Pricing must be populated electronically in the eSupplier portal; no paper schedules accepted. Deviation from the prescribed price schedule may disqualify the bid. Prices rounded to two decimal places for evaluation.

Price evaluation formula: Ps = 80 × (1 – (Pt – Pmin) / Pmin).

Market-related price: Transnet may negotiate with highest-ranked bidder (then 2nd, then 3rd) if price not market-related; may cancel RFQ if no agreement after third negotiation.

Discounts: Only unconditional discounts considered in final evaluation.

Disbursements: Any disbursement not specifically priced will not be accepted.

Delivery lead-time: Bidder must state delivery lead-time from date of purchase order (days/weeks).

Bid security / bonds / guarantees / retention: Not specified in the document.

Payment terms: Not specified in the document.

Financial capacity / turnover thresholds: Not specified in the document.

JSE Debt Listing Requirements: Transnet may disclose contract details (company name, goods/services, value, duration) for JSE compliance.

Central Supplier Database (CSD): Active registration mandatory; CSD number (MAAA) must be provided.

Tax compliance: Valid SARS Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN or printed TCS certificate required; each JV/consortium party must submit separate TCS PIN/certificate/CSD number.

B-BBEE: Preference points awarded for B-BBEE Status Level of Contributor (10 points) and 50% Black Youth Owned Entities (10 points) under the 80/20 system (applicable for contracts up to R50 million). Proof of B-BBEE status required (certificate from SANAS-accredited body, sworn affidavit per Codes of Good Practice, or other prescribed proof). Failure to submit proof = no points claimed.

Employment Equity Act: Compliance required, including Section 53.

Letter of good standing: Valid letter of good standing for industrial cleaning/plant hire mandatory; failure disqualifies.

Security clearance: May be required to CONFIDENTIAL/SECRET/TOP SECRET level for successful bidder, personnel and subcontractors.

DPIP/FPPO disclosure: Bidder must disclose any commercial relationship with Domestic Prominent Influential Persons or Foreign Prominent Public Officials per Transnet policy (https://www.transnet.net/search/pages/results.aspx?k=FPIDP#k=DPIP).

Breach of law disclosure: Bidder must certify whether found guilty in preceding five years of serious breach of law (e.g. Competition Act) by court, tribunal or administrative body; excludes minor offences.

Former Transnet employees: Must declare if any owner/member/director/partner/shareholder/employee was a former Transnet employee or board member in past 10 years and whether involved in bid preparation or had access to RFQ information.

Protection of Personal Information: Section 7 returnable document required.

Certificate of Acquaintance: Section 5 returnable document required.

RFQ Declaration and Breach of Law Form: Section 6 returnable document required.

SBD 1 (Invitation to Bid): Must be completed and signed.

SBD 4 (Declaration of Interest) and SBD 9 (Certificate of Independent Bid Determination) are embedded in Section 5/6 boilerplate; completion and signature required.

No bids considered from persons in service of the state, companies with directors in service of the state, or close corporations with members in service of the state.

ESG standing: Transnet may request information on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standing at any stage of procurement or contracting. This information will not be used for evaluation or disqualification but for record and analysis of ESG compliance.

Contract duration: Three-month service lease agreement.

Termination: Transnet may terminate immediately if successful bidder fails to renew returnable documents when due, without liability and without prejudice to damage claims.

Price negotiation: Transnet may negotiate market-related price with highest-ranked bidder, then sequentially with 2nd and 3rd ranked; may cancel RFQ if no agreement after third negotiation.

Award to next ranked bidder: If preferred bidder fails to sign or commence within reasonable period, Transnet may award to next ranked bidder at quoted price; validity of next ranked bids deemed to remain valid.

Validity extension: Bidders may be requested to extend bid validity on same terms; failure to respond before expiry excludes bidder from process.

JSE disclosure: Transnet may disclose contract details (company name, goods/services, value, duration) for JSE Debt Listing Requirements.

DPIP/FPPO: Transnet will not conclude business without considering governance protocols, determining DPIP/FPPO status, and conducting risk assessment/due diligence. Successful bidders with DPIP/FPPO relationships will be published annually on Transnet website.

Sub-contracting due diligence: Transnet may assess sub-contractors and request information to detect fronting.

Legal review: Proposed contractual terms subject to Transnet Legal Counsel review before award.

Security clearance: Successful bidder, personnel and subcontractors may require CONFIDENTIAL/SECRET/TOP SECRET clearance; bidder's responsibility.

ESG information: Transnet may request ESG standing at any stage (not for evaluation/disqualification).

Breach of law: Transnet reserves right to exclude any bidder found guilty of serious breach of law in preceding five years.

Former Transnet employees: Disclosure required for any owner/member/director/partner/shareholder/employee who was a Transnet employee/board member in past 10 years; involvement in bid preparation or access to RFQ information must be declared.

Standard terms: Contract subject to Transnet General Bid Conditions, Standard RFQ Terms and Conditions, Supplier Integrity Pact, Non-disclosure Agreement. Material deviation from standard terms may disqualify.

Acceptance: Letter of Award acceptance constitutes final contract read with RFQ response and Standard Terms and Conditions.