WBPDCL Tenders 5 MW Floating Solar Installation At Sagardighi Thermal Power Plant

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In order to commission a 5 MW grid-connected floating solar project on a raw water pond at Sagardighi thermal power station, West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) has issued an invitation for bids via electronic tender and reverse auction.

The proposals must be submitted by January 9, 2023, which will be revealed on January 11.

Bidders are required to provide an earnest money deposit of Rs. 7.2 million. The selected bidders must also provide a performance bank guarantee equal to 3% of the project’s total cost, separately.

Additionally, the tender stipulated that as part of the performance warranty for the O&M period, 5% of the project cost + GST shall be kept. Upon successful completion of the undertaking, the sum will be repaid to the developer at a rate of 1% annually.

Within ten months of obtaining the work order, the project should be put into commissioning. For a period of five years, the developer, on a turnkey basis, is required to offer full operation and maintenance (O&M) services.

Developers will be required to pay 0.5% of the project as liquidated damages in the event that project commissioning is delayed, up to a maximum of 10% of the entire project cost.

To be eligible for this project under Route-I, in the previous seven years, bidders need to have constructed and commissioned at least 5 MW of ground-mounted, rooftop or floating solar installations.

One of these installations needs to be a 3 MW unit at a single site, which should be in operation for at least one year. Bidders are also required to have O&M experience for a minimum 3 MW solar project, functional for at least one year.

Under Route II of tender eligibility criteria, bids can also be submitted by companies that have completed engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects in a variety of industries over the past ten years, including power, oil and gas, steel, petrochemical, fertilizer, coal mining, cement, or any other process industry.

In the last seven years, they must have finished three comparable works costing at least Rs. 100 million each, two comparable assignments costing at least Rs. 120 million each, or one undertaking of Rs. 200 million.

Further, they must have completed at least one 33 kV or higher electrical substation, either as developers or EPC contractors, using components such as 33 kV or higher voltage level circuit breakers and power transformers. The project should have been active for at least a year.

The past three fiscal years’ minimum average yearly turnover for bidders should be Rs. 135 million. Their net worth must equal at least 100% of the paid share capital.