Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a notice inviting tender (NIT) for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of 44 MW of solar projects at different sites of Singareni Collieries Company in Telangana.

Successful bidders must provide comprehensive operation and maintenance (O&M) service for ten years.

The total project capacity of 44 MW is divided into three different sites. The projects must be commissioned within twelve months from the issuance of the work order.

The last day to submit the bids is May 17, 2022. The bids will be opened on the same day.

Bidders must pay a tender processing fee of ₹25,000 (~$330).

Bidders must furnish an earnest money deposit of ₹51.2 million (~$674,374). The EMD can be submitted by the bidders jointly for the total 44 MW project capacity. However, the successful bidder will be required to submit individual contract performance securities and advance bank guarantees for individual sites. There will be individual contract agreements with the successful bidder based on site capacity.

Bidders must have experience in EPC execution of grid-connected ground-mounted solar projects of cumulative capacity not less than 22 MW on a turnkey basis in the last seven financial years. The said project should have been in satisfactory operation for at least six months before the last date of bid submission.

Out of the above, bidders must have experience in EPC execution of at least two grid-connected ground-mounted solar projects having an individual capacity of 5 MW on a turnkey basis in the last seven financial years. The said projects should have been in satisfactory operation for at least six months before the last date of bid submission.

The minimum average annual turnover of the bidders must be ₹1.02 billion (~$13.43 million) in the last three financial years ending March 31, 2021. As per the last audited financial statement, bidders must have a minimum working capital of ₹640 million (~$8.42 million). If the bidders’ working capital is inadequate, they must supplement this with a letter from their bank, having a net worth not less than ₹5 billion (~$65.84 million), confirming the availability of the line of credit for ₹640 million (~$8.42 million) to meet the working capital requirement of this particular project.

Bidders must quote for the complete cumulative capacity of 44 MW. The total capacity of 44 MW will be awarded to a single successful bidder after an e-reverse auction. However, there will be separate contract agreements for each site.

The total price of EPC and O&M arrived after the e-reverse auction will be converted to the per MW price. Based on this, the per site project EPC and O&M price will be calculated by multiplying the per MW price by the respective site’s capacity.

Accordingly, three different EPC and O&M contract agreements will be released for the respective sites to the successful bidder.

The cells and modules used in the project must be sourced from manufacturers listed in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s list of models and module manufacturers under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) regulation.

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