British Overseas Territory Saint Helena publicises three-year contract to be awarded for provision of hardware, software, and services
Credit: PA/PA Archive/PA Images
Saint Helena, part of a British Overseas Territory and one of the world’s most remote islands, is seeking a commercial partner to supply software, hardware, and IT services.
The Saint Helena Government has published a contract notice looking for a supplier to provide IT products and services over the course of a three-year contract due to commence on 1 April. The successful bidder will be expected to supply “hardware, software and support [and] maintenance services” to the IT department of the island’s government.
Situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, Saint Helena (pictured above) is about 1,200 miles from the African mainland and 2,200 miles from South America. The nearest other landmass – some 800 miles away – is the island of Asencion. Together, the two islands, along with the even more remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha – which is more than 1,500 miles from either – form the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Asencion and Tristan Da Cunha.
According to the Saint Helena Government, just 4,370 people live on the island, which measures just 47 square miles in area. About 630 people live in the capital, Jamestown, while 984 live in the neighbouring district of Half Tree Hollow which, with more than 900 inhabitants, is the largest settlement on Saint Helena.
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The volcanic island has a tropical climate, with typical temperatures of between 20°C and 30°C for much of the year and rainy seasons that peak around mid-spring and late summer.
The island’s annual gross domestic product is about £33.5m and, despite a yearly tally of just 3,393 visitors, its newly built international airport welcomed its first commercial flight in October – a weekly service from Johannesburg, via Namibian capital Windhoek.
As part of a British Overseas Territory, citizens of the island can be issued with UK passports and can also obtain consular assistance. However, Saint Helenians are still subject to the UK immigration controls faced by non-EU nationals, and are also not treated as a UK national by other EU member states.
Companies interested in becoming the Saint Helena Government’s IT partner have until 28 February to submit their bids.
