The South Eastern Railway has invited bids for 1.37 MW grid-connected rooftop solar power systems under the Santragachi Division jurisdiction in Howrah, West Bengal.

The project comes under the second phase of the division’s solar initiative and covers installations across residential buildings, service buildings, railway stations, and level crossing gates within Santragachi limits.

Bids must be submitted by November 21, 2025. Bids will be opened on the same day.

The estimated cost of the project is ₹149.7 million (~$1.69 million).

Bidders must furnish an earnest money deposit of ₹898,500 (~$10,136). Successful bidders must submit a performance bank guarantee of 5% of the contract value within 21 days of receiving the letter of acceptance (LOA), which is extendable up to 60 days with a penalty interest rate of 12% per annum beyond the 21-day limit.

Failure to submit the guarantee within 60 days will result in termination of the contract and forfeiture of bid security. Security deposits equivalent to 5% of the contract value will also apply as per the Indian Railways General Conditions of Contract (GCC) 2022. The security deposit will be forfeited if the contract is rescinded in full under Clause 62(1) of the GCC.

The project must be completed within 12 months from the date of the letter of award.

The scope of work includes the design, supply, erection, testing, and commissioning of rooftop on-grid solar systems with capacities ranging from 1 kW to 50 kW across multiple sites. Each system will include solar modules, inverters, a balance of system components, and mounting structures.

It also covers a five-year comprehensive maintenance contract.

The total project value is divided into seven schedules covering various site types, including ₹48.2 million (~$543,851) for residential buildings, ₹31 million (~$349,913) for service buildings, ₹12.3 million (~$138,783) for railway stations, and ₹7.6 million (~$85,748) for level crossing gates, among others.

Bidders must have completed any one of the following categories of work during the last seven years:

• Three similar works, each costing at least 30% of the advertised value of the tender
• Two similar works, each costing at least 40% of the advertised value of the tender
• One similar work costing at least 60% of the advertised value of the tender

Bidders must have a minimum average annual contractual turnover of V/N or ‘V’, whichever is lower, where V is the advertised value of the tender in crores of rupees and N is the number of years prescribed for completing the work for which bids have been invited.

The average annual contractual turnover will be calculated as an average of ‘total contractual payments in the previous three financial years.

In November 2024, the Ranchi Division of the South Eastern Railway invited bids to install 3,029 kW of grid-connected rooftop solar systems atop service buildings and residential quarters in Jharkhand.

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