The UK’s Department for International Development DFID has gone out to tender with a contract for a major new programme: Cities and Infrastructure for Growth (CIG) worth an estimated £90 million.

The programme has the following ambitious objectives:

• Improve urban development and productivity,
• Boost access to reliable and affordable power,
• Increase investment into infrastructure services, particularly where it directly supports growth, including through innovative ways of attracting private, and increasing public financing,
• Drive better asset and financial management for sustainable investment into services, namely host governments' ability to plan, finance and manage its infrastructure assets and services

The CIG programme will be delivered through 3 separate contracts for the country programme components procured through a Lots procurement process as follows:

Lot 1: Uganda

Lot 2: Zambia

Lot 3: Burma

The scale of the infrastructure deficit in Burma is significant. Infrastructure, in particular power, remains a binding constraint to growth. Just one-third of the population has access to the electricity grid and its largest city Yangon, uses around half of all national power, but this itself is insufficient, with frequent outages and lack of sufficient and affordable power for domestic industry.

In Africa, infrastructure remains a binding constraint to growth. Lack of reliable and affordable power, water supply and infrastructure connectivity raises costs, reduces competitiveness and holds back investments and jobs. The World Bank estimates that lack of reliable power alone reduces Africa's GDP by 2-4% p.a.

Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 31^st July 2017 – click here to access the tender documentation.