A 100 MW solar EPC tender has been floated by SECI

SECI floats an EPC tender for a 100 MW solar project in Chhattisgarh. The bidding submission deadline is September 9, 2021…

A request for proposals has been invited by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of a 100 MW solar power plant with land in Chhattisgarh.

The winning bidder will also be responsible for the project’s operation and maintenance (O&M) for the next 15 years.

Deadlines: Bids must be submitted by September 9, 2021, and will be opened on the same day. The pre-bid meeting is scheduled on July 23.

EMD: To participate in the bidding process, interested bidders are not required to pay an earnest money deposit.

Scope of Work: The project scope would include design, engineering, procurement, supply, testing at the manufacturer’s workhouse, packing and forwarding, receipt, unloading, and storage on-site, installation, insurance at all stages, erection, commissioning as well as testing of the project.

Other Details:

The contractor must commission the project within 18 months, and if the contractor fails to meet the deadline or any extension thereof, the contractor will have to pay the owner a sum equivalent to 0.5% per week of the contract price. As liquidated damages, a sum of up to 5% of the contract price for the whole facility would be payable as liquidated damages for such default.
Bidders must take into account the project’s minimum land requirements, which is 400 acres – prior to participating in the bidding process. The bidding document further specifies that bidders are required to assess judicially the total land requirement for the project depending on the shape of the modules and their efficiency when bidding.
As contract performance security, the successful bidder must submit an amount of 3%. From the date of the issuance of the contract order, the performance security will remain valid for a total period of 201 months (18 months for commissioning and 108 months for operations and maintenance, plus another three months in addition).
Applicants from countries that have land borders with India will only be eligible to submit bids if they have registered with the competent authority.
Apparently, the nodal agency has informed the bidders that Basic Customs Duty will be imposed from April 1, 2022, and this will not be considered a ‘Change in Law’.

Procurement Guideline:

A class-I local supplier could only be used to procure solar modules and inverters. Class-I local suppliers are those whose procurement services have at least 50% local content.
Also, List-I of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) published by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy should be eligible for module procurement for the project.
The bidder should also certify, while submitting the quote, that he or she is aware of the binding provisions of the ALMM order and the list thereunder.

SECI had invited bids in May to choose land parcels and banks for setting up a 100 MW solar project in Chhattisgarh. For this, landowners, farmers, cooperative societies, and land aggregators were invited to submit their bids for outright sale or long-term lease (30 years) of their lands in Chhattisgarh.