By Prince Sunduzani
Ailing Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) says the rebuilding of its coke oven battery and coke oven gas plant is at the heart of the entity’s turnaround efforts.
Saddled with a huge debt burden to different creditors, the colliery has been incurring losses in several financial periods, provoking animosity with the nearly 3 000-strong workforce, which blames the company’s woes on mismanagement.
The company has since invited tender bids from prospecting contractors with capability to offer technical and financial support to submit their applications before March 29 this year.
The plant that converts coking coal into coke stopped operating in 2014 after it became too expensive to run.
The company last year abandoned plans to construct a new coke oven battery at a cost of $50 million, citing cash constraints.
“As part of its turnaround plan, Hwange Colliery Company Limited has seen it prudent to restore the coke oven battery and coke oven gas plant. Therefore, Hwange Colliery Company Limited invites bids for the rebuild or completely new construction of a recovery type coke battery, by-products plant and gas plant, which includes coke oven gas supply line to the power station and financing of the project,” said HCCL in a statement.
“Bidders should demonstrate their capability to offer both a technical and financial support solution as a package or offer either a technical or financial package only.”
HCCL has said that all bidders are expected to demonstrate their capability to provide the required services and expertise and include their track record in the funding/ construction of a recovery type coke oven battery or similar plant.
Maintenance of the coke oven battery for a period of 12 months can also be offered as an option, it said. After the decommissioning of the battery, the company resorted to producing coke through tolling arrangements with “third parties”. The Chronicle
