Taking a stride towards the creation of silos for the scientific storage of wheat under the approved capacity of 2 million tonne, the Food Corporation of India may invite the bids from the private players in March 2013.
“Technical specifications and standards have been finalised. The RFQ (Request for Qualification) and the RFP (Request for Proposal) would be floated in March,” a source in the FCI told Business Standard.
“There has been a plethora of enquiries from private players for investment opportunities in this model. That is a big encouragement for us. The two-million tonne project will be a big leap towards modern storage,” the source added.
The government of India will provide 20 per cent viable gap funding (VGF) if the land is provided by the state government or agency. If the state government fails to provide the land, the silo would be constructed on the build, operate, own, transfer (BooT) model.
A minimum of 9-10 acres of land is required for a silo of 50,000 tonne capacity. This land requirement includes 1.5 acre for railway siding.
Out of the ten states shortlisted for creating silo capacity, Assam is the front runner having the required land. Maharashtra has acquired some land and is in the process of more acquisitions. Uttar Pradesh has demanded more time while Haryana has refused to arrange any land.
The remaining states are yet to submit their preparations for land.
Punjab and Haryana fall under the category of ‘producing states’.
The states of West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala are ‘consuming states’.
Three states (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar) fit the category of both producer and consumer states.
If things fall in line, the construction of silos should be in full swing in the year 2013-14 and should be in place by 2014-15.
The creation of silos rests on an integrated model where bulk procurement, bulk storageand movement saves the intermediate cost and ensures minimum pilferage.
The silos are a part of a joint project by the Ministry of Food and the FCI to create an additional storage capacity of over 15 million tonnes.
At present, the government of India has a storage space of close to 64 million tonnes.
