The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has invited bids to develop 923 MW of solar projects.

The projects can range anywhere between 50 MW and 300 MW. The tender has been floated under tranche II of the second phase of the central public sector undertaking (CPSU) program, which is a part of the National Solar Mission (NSM).

The last date for the submission of bids is January 3, 2020, and a pre-bid meeting will be held on December 20, 2019.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, installation, and commissioning of the projects on a turnkey basis. The successful bidder will also be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the projects for a period of three years. All associated electrical and civil work will also have to be covered by the developer.

The tender has been announced under the domestic content requirement (DCR) category, which mandates that domestically manufactured solar cells and modules must be used in the development of the projects.

Interested bidders must have had an average annual turnover of at least ₹2.4 billion (~$33.49 million) and must have prior experience of setting up similar projects of 40 MW or higher capacity. Of this, at least one project should be of at least 10 MW. Additionally, the reference 10 MW project must have been in successful operation for at least six months. Apart from this, the net worth of the bidder in the preceding financial year should not be less than 100% of the bidder’s paid-up share capital.

Previously, Mercom reported that NTPC invited bids for the development of grid-connected solar projects up to a capacity of 1,000 MW under the Develop Build Demonstrate Transfer (DBDT) program. It later extended the deadline for the submission of bids to December 3, 2019.