Coal India Limited has invited online bids through its e-procurement portal for borrowing a rupee term loan amounting to ₹463.38 crores to fund a 100 MW solar power project at Bhadramali, Gujarat. The company, a Government of India undertaking, will use the loan to finance the debt portion of the project, which has an estimated capital cost of ₹579.22 crores and is designed for a life of 25 years. The project will be connected to the grid through the GETCO substation at 66 kV and is expected to generate about 258.61 million units annually. The scheduled commissioning date is set for 20 December 2025.
The tender follows a two-bid system comprising techno-commercial and price bids. The loan size is fixed at ₹463.38 crores, with no Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) required. There is also no tender fee. The bids will remain valid for 120 days from the date of opening of the techno-commercial bid. The lender will be repaid over 20 years through 80 equal quarterly instalments, with the interest payable monthly. The repayment of the principal will begin from the quarter following the commercial operation date.
The tender document was published on 11 August 2025 at 5:00 PM. Interested bidders can download the documents until 2 September 2025 at 5:00 PM. Queries and requests for clarification can be submitted until 18 August 2025 at 5:00 PM, and a pre-bid conference will be held on the same day at 11:00 AM. The submission of offers will open on 19 August 2025 at 11:00 AM and close on 2 September 2025 at 5:00 PM. The techno-commercial bids will be opened on 3 September 2025 at 11:00 AM, while the date for opening the price bids will be communicated later to the technically qualified bidders.
Eligible bidders include any scheduled commercial bank, non-banking financial company (NBFC), or financial institution regulated under an Act of Parliament, with a minimum net worth of ₹500 crores as of 31 March 2025. Consortium bids are not allowed. Bidders must provide relevant registration or licensing documents and proof of net worth.
The loan terms specify no moratorium period for repayment, no processing or legal fees, and no prepayment charges, provided a 30-day notice is given. The security for the loan will be created against the non-current assets of the project, excluding land, through a deed of hypothecation. The interest rate offered can be linked to either an internal benchmark, such as the Marginal Cost of Funds-based Lending Rate (MCLR), or an approved external benchmark like the RBI policy repo rate or government securities yield, with a fixed spread.
Coal India Limited reserves the right to partially draw, fully draw, or even cancel the loan without any drawal by giving the lender 30 days’ notice. The disbursement period is set at 18 months from the commercial operation date and can be extended through mutual agreement. The selection of the successful bidder will be based on the lowest net interest rate offered, with tie-breaking criteria applied if necessary.
This tender marks an important financing step for CIL’s renewable energy expansion, aligning with its plans to diversify into solar power while leveraging competitive funding.
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