The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has invited bids to develop a 4 MW floating solar project on a turnkey basis at its IISCO Steel Plant in Paschim Bardhaman district, West Bengal.

The last date to submit the bids is December 30, 2021. Bids will be opened on the same day. The pre-bid meeting will take place on December 13.

The scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection, testing, and commissioning of the 4 MW floating solar project. The successful bidder must also provide comprehensive operations and maintenance services for five years from the date of the project’s commissioning.

IISCO Steel Plant, earlier known as Indian Iron and Steel Company, is one of India’s first integrated steel plants. The plant has now merged with SAIL. To meet the plant’s water requirements, it has a reservoir with two compartments of a total volume of about 2,80,000 m3 (1m3=1,000 liters).

The project must be commissioned within 12 months from the effective date of the contract. The bidder must also install remote operation monitoring and Human Machine Interface (HMI) system and its integration with Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for remote monitoring and control of solar panels.

The modules used should be of crystalline silicon technology, having at least 72 cells per module. The wattage of the module must be 330 W or more.

As a performance bank guarantee, the successful bidder must submit 3% of the contract value, including Goods and Services Tax (GST). Any scheduled commercial bank in India can issue the bank guarantee, and the issuing bank should have a branch at Asansol or Burnpur in West Bengal.

To be eligible, bidders should have installed and commissioned at least two floating solar projects with over 2 MW capacity in the last seven financial years. Alternatively, they should have commissioned at least one floating solar project above 3 MW capacity in the last seven financial years.

The average annual turnover of the bidding company must not be less than ₹60 million (~$796,502) in the last three financial years. Their net worth should be positive in the last financial year.

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