The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a notice inviting tender (NIT) for 5 MW of grid-connected, ground-mounted solar projects at the V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust at Tuticorin in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Interested bidders are expected to pay an earnest money deposit (EMD) of ₹4.48 million (~$60,289). The last date for the submission of bids is August 21, 2020.

This is “domestic competitive bidding” so no foreign bidders are eligible to participate in this tender, either on a standalone basis or as a member of a joint venture or consortium. However, the subsidiary of a foreign company, which is registered in India under the Companies Act, 2013 before the bid submission deadline, are eligible to participate.

The scope of work will include the design, engineering, supply, construction, installation, testing, and commissioning of the projects and providing ten years of operation and maintenance services. The projects are to be commissioned in nine months from the date of notification of award.

To be eligible to take part in the competitive bidding process, applicants must have had a minimum average annual turnover of ₹89.6 million (~$1.2 million) in the last three financial years. Their net worth must have been positive in the last financial year. Bidders must also have a minimum working capital of ₹56 million (~$753,621) as per the company’s last financial statement.

Bidders must also have experience (either as a developer or as an engineering, procurement, and construction provider) executing at least 3 MW of ground-mounted solar projects cumulatively in the last seven financial years. Of these, at least two projects must have had an individual capacity of 500 kW or above each. These projects must have been operating satisfactorily for at least six months before the last date of bid submission.

SECI also stated that the modules used in the projects must be the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certified. They should also have been included in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) for solar photovoltaic modules.

Several ports across the country are set to become sustainable.

Recently, the Cochin Port Trust invited bids for setting up 1.5 MW (two projects of 0.75 MW) of grid-connected floating solar power projects at the port’s walkway avenue between BOT junction and Kannangatt bridge. Before this, it floated a tender for the development of a 350 kW grid-connected rooftop solar PV project at its premises.

Last year, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust also issued a request for proposal inviting the bidders to provide quotations for carrying out a detailed survey for an upcoming floating solar project at its premises.