Southern Railways Invites ₹378 Crore Tender For Solar Power Plants Under RESCO Model

The Southern Railway’s Electrical Headquarters has invited e-tenders for the development of land-based solar power plants across multiple railway divisions under the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model. The project will cover various locations within the MAS, SA, and TPJ divisions of Southern Railway and marks another major step toward increasing the use of renewable energy within the Indian Railways network.

According to the tender details, the project has been floated as an open tender under a two-packet system. Under this process, bidders will first be evaluated on their technical qualifications before their financial bids are opened. The estimated value of the project is around Rs. 378.07 crore, making it one of the significant renewable energy initiatives announced by Southern Railway in recent months.

The work has been categorized under general works with a completion timeline of 240 days. The tender follows a single-rate bidding format for each schedule item, while the ranking of bids will be done from the lowest to the highest bidder. Southern Railway has also permitted Joint Ventures to participate in the bidding process, with a maximum limit of six members in a JV. However, consortium participation has not been allowed.

The tender conditions specify that all bids must be submitted online through the Indian Railways E-Procurement System (IREPS) portal. Manual submissions will not be considered under any circumstances. Bidders have also been instructed to provide self-certification regarding local content percentage in accordance with the Government of India’s “Make in India” policy requirements.

Financially, bidders are required to submit an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of Rs. 3.09 crore as bid security. In addition, the tender document fee has been fixed at Rs. 34,810. The tender document also states that any forged or false documentation submitted during the process may result in forfeiture of both the bid security and the Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG).

The tender was uploaded on May 9, 2026, at 2:00 PM, while the pre-bid conference is scheduled for May 15, 2026, at 11:00 AM. The bidding process will begin on June 9, 2026, and the final submission deadline has been fixed for June 23, 2026, at 3:00 PM. Southern Railway has also specified that submitted bids must remain valid for 180 days from the tender closing date.

The project is expected to strengthen Southern Railway’s renewable energy infrastructure while encouraging private sector participation in sustainable power development.