Open tender · India · Works
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) for Development, Supply, Transportation, Deployment and Commissioning of Fiber Optic Cable with Sensor Nodes in Indian Ocean and Establishment of linked Shore Station on Turnkey basis
Department of Defence Research and Development · NPOL, Thrikkakara
Department of Defence Research and Development in India is inviting bids for “EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) for Development, Supply, Transportation, Deployment and Commissioning of Fiber Optic Cable with Sensor Nodes in Indian…”. Bids close on 27 October 2026; no bid security (EMD) is required. To qualify, bidders need an average annual turnover of ₹12 crore over the last 3 years, at least one similar completed work worth ₹64 crore or more and ISO 9001. Reference: NPOL/MM/EOI/01/26-27.
The work
Development, Supply, Transportation, Deployment and Commissioning of Fiber Optic Cable with Sensor Nodes in Indian Ocean and Establishment of linked Shore Station on Turnkey basis.
- The entire system includes: (i) wet‐plant systems, (ii) hardware at shore station (iii) beach manhole etc.
- The bidder shall also be responsible for construction of beach man-hole at the earmarked / identified location, entire system integration in the shore station & its commissioning and establishing the required optical links.
- The LSI should also ensure lifecycle maintenance of the system.
Key facts
- Bid security (EMD)
- Not required
- Bid validity
- 365 days
- Contract period
- Within 48 months (tentative) from the date of invitation of EoI
- Evaluation
- Screening/ scrutiny of responses shall be carried out in two stages. Stage-1: An evaluation committee will scrutinize the submitted proposals for compliance with Pre-qualification criteria mentioned in Part-A, Part-B and Part-C in section 3 through review / evaluation of documents submitted by the bidders. Stage-2: In stage-2, based on the responses and inputs received for EoI, NPOL may float an RFP and the lowest qualified bidder in RFP will be selected as the Lead System Integrator (LSI) for the said project work.
- Tender type
- Open Tender
- Published
- 19 Jun 2026
- Reference
- NPOL/MM/EOI/01/26-27
What it takes to qualify
Worth a closer look
- The indicative price for the required major items and services needs to be furnished in the EoI response as per the table/format given in the detailed scope of work.
- The detailed scope of work will be given on this day after signing Non-Disclosure Agreement in the prescribed format Appendix B
- The bidder of a consortium shall not participate as a member in another consortium for the same EoI.
- Any tasks which are missed here and felt essential may be brought out and proposed by the bidder in their proposal along with cost implications.
- The acceptance of proposal will be solely by The Director, NPOL who does not bind himself to accept the lowest or any other proposal.
Experience
- At least 1 similar work worth ₹64 crore or more — Supply of underwater cable/fiber cable and accessories; Supply & deployment of underwater systems/structures/mooring systems in ocean/marine survey etc.; Job of underwater deployment/retrieval/maintenance of subsea cable in sea; Repair work of deployed cable either through retrieval or in-situ; Development and supply of systems; Providing service for system Integration, establishment and operation of systems; Supply of control and display systems; Installation / operation of Data reception, control monitoring stations; Installations of sensor systems and their networks in ocean etc.
- Proven experience in executing end-to-end solutions (turnkey kind of projects) involving preparation of technical designs, design vetting, development and testing of defense / marine /aerospace systems for Govt. / Public Sector Units in India in consultation with Indian & foreign OEMs including obtaining statutory clearances.
- Demonstrated ability to handle system-level integration for R&D facilities including commissioning and training.
- Experience in handling and deployment of underwater systems / installations / marine observation systems etc.
- Experience in design/development and deployment of seaworthy systems or similar subsea sensor systems.
- Experience in designing and constructing control stations with integrated data acquisition systems & power systems.
- Experience in integrating equipment such as sensors OR data acquisition systems OR programmable power systems OR HMI systems OR SCADA systems OR customized software etc.
- Experience in project documentation including preparation of Detailed design reports, Data Analysis Reports, Project Execution Plans, Maintenance Manuals, Training Manuals & Risk Mitigation Plans for complex projects.
- At least 5 years in business
- Proof needed: completion certificates
Financial capacity
- Average annual turnover of ₹12 crore over the last 3 years
- Audited financial statements for 3 years
Certifications and registrations
ISO 9001The company should have ISO 9001 certification.
GST registrationThe company should have ISO 9001 certification. Also, they should mention other certifications they possess.
PANCompany profile, Organizational Hierarchy, registration of Company be attached with PAN, GST etc.
Certificate of incorporationThe bidder shall be registered under The Companies Act 2013/ incorporation/ Partnership Firm/ Proprietor and Registration certificate should have their registered office in India.
Consortium support lettersIn case of consortiums, give details about the companies to whom they are having/ planning to have consortiums with details like their company profile, country of origin, expertise area, major tasks aimed with them etc.
Policy conditions
- Bidders from certain countries are restricted
Documents to submit
- Declaration letter on letterheadDeclaration letter has to be submitted towards the supply of tendered materials/items (make and model) are invariably not from the land border sharing countries with India as per Ministry of Finance Department of Expenditure office Memorandum No. 6/18/2019-PPD DT. 23.07.2020 and F.18/37/2020-PPD, dt. 08.02.2021.
- Undertaking on non-blacklistingThe bidder should not be blacklisted by Central Govt./ State Govt./ PSU/ Govt. Bodies/ concerned authority.
- Undertaking on no wilful defaulter statusPromoters and Directors of the bidder shall be resident Indian citizens and should not be wilful defaulters to the banking system.
- Undertaking on non-bankruptcyThe company should not be declared bankrupt under NCLT process or defaulted on loans.
- Undertaking on pre-proposal meeting attendanceAttending of pre-proposal briefing meeting for discussion on specification, scope of work, quantum of work involved and other terms and conditions is mandatory that the bidders must attend the pre-proposal meeting arranged by NPOL.
- Written consent for lifecycle supportWritten consent by the bidder is to be given for providing life cycle support to the commissioned whole system (underwater and onshore subsystems in complete) for its scheduled service life of 20 years, in case they are nominated as DcPP subsequent to satisfactory user evaluation trials.