The Punjab State Federation of Co-operative Sugar Mills Ltd (Sugarfed), an apex body of 15 co-operative sugar mills in the state, has hired Pune-based consultant J P Mukherji & Associates Private Ltd to facilitate the revival of six closed sugar mills and three distilleries in the state.
The consultant is likely to submit its report in three months.
Earlier, the state government has invited tender for the job. In response to the tender, five parties expressed interest, and out of the five, four attended the meeting. Pune-based J P Mukherji & Associates Private Ltd was appointed consultant.
The other players who participated in the meeting are IFCI Ltd, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Mills and Deva Engineers Consultants.
In Punjab, there are 15 co-operative sugar mills, out of which six are closed. The total installed crushing capacity in all these 15 sugar mills is 28,266 tonnes capacity per day. The installed capacity of the six closed mills is 12,500 tonnes capacity per day.
Further, three closed distillers have a 100 kilolitre per day installed capacity.
"The consultant will make a valuation of the assets of the six closed mills and three distilleries and then determine a price at which the mills could be leased to private players, the lease period, and the best alternatives, besides setting the terms and conditions of the agreement," a Sugarfed official said.
The official said that Sugarfed had proposed to transfer these closed sugar mills in the co-operative sector on lease (for 20-25 years) to private parties.
Besides this, the co-operative department has plans to revive the remaining co-operative sugar mills and set up co-generation plants along with modernisation on a build-own-operate-transfer basis, on which approximately Rs 675 crore will be invested by the public/private entrepreneur.
Earlier, Co-operation Minister Kanwaljit Singh said that the state co-operative mills had the potential of generating 100-120 Mw annually and the state electricity board has offered to purchase the proposed power at Rs 2.86 per unit. He said a comprehensive revival plan to convert these mills into mega sugar complexes had been drafted.
