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Chinese firm wins tender for surveillance systems in Kenya

27 November 2012 22:19 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Chinese firm, Nanjing Les Information Technology, has won a 5 million U.S. dollars integrated urban surveillance system (IUSS) project, which is to be completed by February 2013, a senior Kenyan official disclosed on Tuesday, APA reports.

Nairobi Metropolitan Minister Jamleck Kamau said the security surveillance equipment will help monitor traffic and thwart terror attacks in the city.

"The system will enable live streaming of video from different areas of the city as well as record and store video for later viewing. The system is of an open architecture which means it will enable scaling up later and connection of existing and/or any other private entities," Kamau told journalists in Nairobi.

The minister said the system will capture speeding vehicles through number plate recognition in the Nairobi Central Business District and its environs, adding that phase one of the project will cover all 51 traffic lights controlled junctions and crime spots within the CBD and its environs in a bid to reduce crime and control traffic.

Kamau said Nanjing Les Information Technologies won the tender among 27 firms which had applied and returned the forms on the grounds of technical capacity and better pricing.

He said Nanjing quoted the price of 5 million dollars, against the prices quoted by various bidders ranging from highs of 23.5 million dollars to lows of 2.35 million dollars.

The minister said the tender award which was floated in June had been delayed after one bidder HF Fire International among the top five finalists appealed to the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) on Sept. 27, contesting the award done on Sept. 14.

The systems will be installed in key cities and other towns to enhance security around the country as the East African nation's soldiers battle with insurgents in neighboring Somalia.

The project comes amid looming threat by Al-Shabaab based in southern Somalia. Kenya accuses the Al-Qaida linked group of a spate of abductions, landmine and grenade attacks, including those in the capital city Nairobi.

The minister said the mobile surveillance unit will deter crimes while helping enforce traffic laws.