Pre-Purchase of Bulk Dedicated International Bandwidth Capacity for Government: 1) LOT 1: Supply and Delivery of Primary International Internet Capacity (Internet Protocol Transit) for One Government…

Summary

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: 1) LOT 1: Supply and Delivery of Primary International Internet Capacity (Internet Protocol Transit) for One Government Network 2) 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 1. 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. 2. 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: 1) LOT 1: Supply and Delivery of Primary International Internet Capacity (Internet Protocol Transit) for One Government Network 2) LOT 2: Supply and Delivery of Secondary (Redundant) International Internet Capacity (Internet Protocol Transit) for One Government Network 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6. 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. 7. 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. 8. 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