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| Centre to attract Rs 5,000-cr investment for storage infra |
| Press Trust Of India / New Delhi Sep 04, 2009, 01:47 IST |
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The Centre has chalked out a plan to attract about Rs 5,000-crore investment from the private sector to build an additional storage capacity of 12.6 million tonnes (mt) of foodgrain in 2009-10.
“The tender for the creation of additional storage infrastructure will be issued this month by Food Corporation of India (FCI),” a senior government official said.
According to the plan, private companies will be given a five-year guarantee for the construction of warehouses and silos to raise the storage capacity in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, the official added.
The government would store foodgrain for five years after the construction is completed, as it would help the private sector an assured business for a particular period, the official noted.
The move has come at a time when a large quantity of foodgrain procured by the Centre is lying in the open because of a space crunch.
According to the FCI data, as high as 14. mt wheat procured in 2008-09 season has not yet found a roof and is lying in the open in Punjab and Haryana.
Trade sources said the average cost of building a warehouse was about Rs 4,000 per tonne capacity. So, the private sector would have to invest about Rs 5,040 crore to create a storage capacity of 12.6 mt, they added.
The storage capacity of FCI is 27.55 mt, whereas the Central Warehousing Corporation, a PSU under the food ministry, has a storage space of 10.5 mt.
Between April and June this year, the Centre has procured over 25 mt of wheat. It also has purchased a record 32.6 mt rice in the current season.
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