The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is on the lookout for an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor to develop a 1.2 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) project at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (LBSI) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The bid-submission deadline is April 23, 2018. The estimated project cost is ₹74,273,540 (~$1,137,680) and the project completion timeframe is five months from the time the contract is awarded.

The scope of work includes site survey, shadow analysis, complete design for optimal use of space, engineering, manufacture, supply, storage, insurance, civil work, erection, testing, and commissioning of the grid-connected solar PV project.

After commissioning, the successful bidder will be responsible for providing five years of operation and maintenance (O&M) services.

AAI is seeking to use solar as a low-cost and renewable source of power to fuel operations at various airports across India. In December 2017, a 15 MW grid-connected solar PV project was inaugurated at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata, West Bengal.

The Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport is just one of several Indian airports that have opted to install solar projects in recent months.

In January 2018, CIAL Infrastructures Ltd. concluded bidding for the development of 9.9 MW of grid-connected solar projects at the Cochin airport. That same month, a 700 kW rooftop solar PV project was nearing completion at the Ahmedabad airport, and the power generated by that project was expected to be used for captive consumption at the airport.

According to Mercom sources, another 730 kW rooftop solar PV project is also being implemented at the Madurai Airport.

Image credit: By Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada (India-5550) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons