The Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) has issued a request for proposal (RfP) for the procurement, operation, and maintenance of 100 electric buses on gross cost contract (GCC) basis in three cities.

The buses will be procured under the second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles program’s second phase (FAME-II).

The scope of work includes supplying, operating, and maintaining the buses for eight years or 600,000 kilometers, whichever comes first. It is also expected to develop, operate and maintain the charging infrastructure for the buses in the districts of Guwahati, Silchar, and Jorhat.

Interested bidders are expected to pay an earnest money deposit (EMD) of ₹10 million (~$140,300). The last date for the submission of bids is December 7, 2019. The winner will be selected based on the lowest gross cost contract in terms of rupees per kilometer per bus.

To participate in this tender, the bidders must be original equipment manufacturers (OEM), operators, or aggregators with manufacturing facilities in India and a minimum annual turnover of ₹1.5 billion (~$21 million) at least once in the last three years.

They must also have a minimum positive net worth of ₹500 million (~$7 million) in the last four financial years. They are allowed to bid individually, as joint ventures and as consortiums with a maximum of two members.

Previously, Mercom reported that to promote clean mobility in public transportation, the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) under the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises, approved the deployment of 5,595 electric buses across 64 cities in the country under the FAME-II program under which Assam was allocated 100 electric buses.

In line with this, state transport corporations across India have been issuing tenders and RfPs for hundreds of electric buses.

Most recently, Jaipur City Transport Services Limited (JCTSL) issued an RfP for the supply, operation, and maintenance of 100 fully air-conditioned electric buses in the city under public-private partnership for an expected cost of ₹1.75 billion (~$24.4 million).

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