Three consortiums clear technical round for NTPC re-tender

BGR Energy-Hitachi today said they had been qualified for the supercritical boiler tender of NTPC. The company said they were asked to submit a price bid on January 20.

Besides the BGR consortium, others who have been qualified are BHEL-Alstom and L&T-Mitsubishi. NTPC conducted the bidding for the contract a second time, after L&T was disqualified from the tender in the first round on technical grounds. NTPC had issued a tender for bulk ordering of supercritical power equipment, with a cumulative generation capacity of 7,200 Mw, on the condition that the bidder had a manufacturing facility in India.

NTPC’s orders are for 11 boilers, nine for its own projects and two for Damodar Valley Corporation. According to the tender conditions, the lowest bidder for boilers will be given an order for six units. If BHEL is not the lowest, the government will award it the order for the remaining five units if it agrees to match the lowest bid. The option will be given to others in case BHEL does not match the bid, in the order of bid ranking.

NTPC floated a bulk tender for 660 Mw in October 2009. The last date for bids was January 28. Only BHEL and L&T had bid for boilers but the boiler package was re-tendered in June. Besides L&T and BHEL, the consortiums of Gammon-Ansaldo and BGR-Hitachi also joined the fray in the re-tender.

The country’s biggest power generator earlier selected a consortium of Bharat Forge-Alstom for the turbine and generator package of the bulk tender. Contracts for the boiler and turbine packages will be awarded simultaneously, said a NTPC official.

The government had last week approved another bulk tender for procurement of nine supercritical units of 800 Mw capacity each.