The NTPC has, for the third time, extended the bid submission deadline for its tender for a balance of system (BoS) package for the 735 (3×245) MW Nokh solar project.

The project is located in the state of Rajasthan. As per the latest announcement, the bid submission date has been extended to June 11, 2020, from the earlier deadline of June 2, 2020. The bid opening date has been scheduled for June 12, 2020.

The NTPC had floated the tender for the project in March 2020. The initial bid submission deadline was April 27, 2020, which later got extended to May 19, 2020. The date for bid submission was again extended for the second time to June 2, 2020.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, packing, transportation unloading storage, installation, testing, and commissioning of solar projects, excluding the supply of solar PV modules. All bids need to be accompanied by a bid security amount of ₹50 million (~$663,429).

According to the tender document, the interested bidder should have executed in the last ten years an industrial project either as a developer or as an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor in the area of power, steel, oil, gas, or any other process industry.  Or, the prospective bidder should be a developer of solar-based grid-connected power projects of cumulative installed capacity of 40 MW or higher, out of which at least one project should have been of 10 MW or higher capacity. It must have been in successful operation for at least six months before the date of the techno-commercial bid opening.

To participate in the bidding process, the average annual turnover of the bidder for the first block of 245 MW should be ₹670 million (~$8.81 million). For the second block, it should be ₹1.34 billion (~$17.84 million).

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, NTPC has 875 MW of commissioned projects and ~2.3 GW under the development pipeline.

In January 2020, it was reported that the Rajasthan Solar Park Development Company Limited invited bids for the construction of 220 kV and 132 kV transmission lines at Nokh Solar Park in Jaisalmer on a turnkey basis.

Image credit: Dennis Schroeder – NREL Photographer / Public domain