NHPC Limited has invited fresh bids from engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors for a 40 MW solar power project. The project will be developed at Landeihil village in Ganjam district of Odisha.

This is a retender of the capacity that was floated in April last year.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, procurement, manufacturing, quality assurance, testing, insurance, supply, installation, and commissioning of the project. The contract will also include comprehensive operation & maintenance (O&M) for ten years.  The successful bidder will also be required to construct the associated 220 kW transmission line for the project.

The last date for online submission of bids is August 26, 2020, and the pre-bid meeting will take place on July 30, 2020.Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹26 million (~$345,702) as the earnest money deposit (EMD). The time period for the completion of the project has been fixed as 12 months.

To take part in the bidding process, the bidder should have experience of completing a solar power project during the last five years as an EPC contractor. The bidder should have completed one solar power project of 32 MW capacity, or two solar projects of 20 MW capacity each, or three solar projects of 16 MW capacity each. The bidder should have O&M experience for at least one solar project of 16 MW during the last five years.

Regarding the financial criteria, the minimum average annual turnover of the bidder in the last three years should be ₹3.28 billion (~$43.6 million). The net worth of the bidder should be positive and not less than the amount of the paid-up capital in three out of the last five years. The working capital of the bidder should be at least ₹273.5 million (~$3.64 million).

Recently, NHPC announced that it had issued a letter of award for 400 MW of interstate transmission system (ISTS) connected solar projects. These projects are part of the NHPC’s tender for procuring 2 GW of power from ISTS-connected solar projects. NHPC said that it had already issued LoAs for the remaining 1.6 GW of projects in June 2020.

Earlier, NHPC announced it is now going to diversify its business to include solar power projects. The hydropower generator said that the company would act as an intermediary procurer through solar power developers. NHPC Limited, one of the largest hydropower companies in the country, currently has a portfolio comprising about 6.7 GW of projects spread across 24 power stations, according to the company’s website. These projects include the ones that were taken up under joint venture partnerships.