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Property Reporter
THE Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) has started the process to engage experts to design buildings for its staff and students accommodation housing project in Zvishavane and Lupane.

IDBZ said it had been mandated to mobilise funding for construction of accommodation for tertiary students, academic medical staff and students. The consultants will provide architectural, quantity surveying and engineering services for the planned accommodation facilities.

This comes as Lupane State University has been battling to find enough accommodation for its students after most departments relocated to the campus from Bulawayo.

Great Zimbabwe University, in Masvingo, also has serious challenges providing adequate accommodation for its students, which saw the college purchasing troubled asbestos miner, SMM Holdings staff houses in Mashava for conversion into housing quarters for its students.

In fact, most tertiary institutions across the country do not have enough accommodation for thousands of students studying at the institutions, which has seen some learners staying in inhospitable places.

IDBZ said it will now use part of the funds being mobilised to build accommodation facilities for tertiary students and staff in Lupane and Zvishavane.

“The bank intends to apply part of this budget allocation towards payments to reputable consulting firms and/or consortia contracted to undertake detailed architectural, engineering and quantity survey services for these projects at Lupane and Zvishavane sites in Matabeleland North and Midlands provinces,” IDBZ said in a statement.

The IDBZ has since invited eligible national, regional and international consulting firms to indicate their interest in providing the consultancy services.

Interested consulting firms/consortia must provide information demonstrating that they are qualified to undertake this assignment individually or as a consortium.

The prospective consultancy firms are required to provide company profiles, company registration documents, curriculum vitae, brochures, description of similar assignments, experience under similar environment or conditions and availability of appropriate skills/ experience among staff.

“Prospective consulting firms may constitute joint-ventures where necessary to enhance their capacity to undertake the assignment,” IDBZ said.

The bidders are expected to provide consultancy services for conceptual, preliminary, detailed designs and construction supervision of single/multi-storey structures and supporting infrastructure for tertiary college/university academic medical staff and student accommodation.

The buildings should where possible, cater for shopping malls, banking services, pharmacies, gym facilities, laundry, parking areas and other commensurate functionalities consistent with the main usages.

The scope of works involves the delivery of architectural concept, preliminary and detailed designs, civil, structural, electrical and mechanical designs, materials specifications, preliminary and detailed cost estimates as well as furniture specifications and cost estimates,

Further bidders must provide specifications and cost estimate for CCTV, security systems, fire detection, central air conditioning, plumbing and sanitary works, electrical works, ups and IT server room and false ceiling and other ancillary works as per requirement with periodic site supervision as and when required.