CESL Concludes Tender For 10,900 Electric Buses

The mega tender witnessed strong industry participation, with 16 bidders taking part, reflecting rising interest from electric bus manufacturers and operators. CESL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and the Government of India’s nominated agency for aggregation and procurement of electric buses, said the competitive response highlights the growing maturity of India’s electric mobility ecosystem.

Financial bids of 14 technically qualified bidders were opened, with discovered rates described as attractive and lower than initial estimates. These rates will be shared with participating cities, following which the respective city transport undertakings will issue letters of award and enter into concession agreements directly with the selected operators.

The procurement has been carried out under CESL’s aggregation-based gross cost contract (GCC) model, covering multiple cities and Union Territories, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Surat. Under the indicative city-wise allocation, Bengaluru is expected to receive around 4,500 buses, Delhi about 2,800 buses and Hyderabad approximately 2,000 buses, while Ahmedabad and Surat together are planned to induct around 1,600 buses under the programme.

Under the GCC framework, private operators will be responsible for the ownership, operation and maintenance of the electric buses, as well as the development of charging infrastructure and energy management systems at depots provided by city authorities. City transport agencies will, in turn, pay a fixed per-kilometre fee, ensuring affordability and long-term financial sustainability.

The deployment of 10,900 electric buses is expected to significantly reduce carbon emissions and urban air pollution, while improving the quality, reliability and scale of public transport services across major Indian cities. CESL said the milestone reinforces its role as a key enabler of India’s clean mobility transition through transparent procurement, competitive aggregation and large-scale implementation of electric public transport solutions.