FCI inks pact with Adani Group

State-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) has entered into an agreement with Adani group for construction of two silos to store wheat, at an estimated cost of about Rs 80 crore.

The two silos would have a combined storage capacity of 75,000 tonnes.

As part of the agreement, Adani Agri Logistics will construct silos at Kotkapura in Punjab and Katihar in Bihar in the next two years, a senior government official said.

The silos will be designed, built, financed and operated by the private partner while it will be owned by the FCI..

FCI, the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrain, would provide guarantee of rentals for 30 years, the official added.

The silo at Kotkapura would be of 25,000 tonne capacity and will require an investment of about Rs 35 crore, while the other silo at Katihar would have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes to be built at a cost of about Rs 45 crore, a source said.

A silo is a steel structure, comprising large size cylindrical shape bins normally each with a capacity of about 12,500 tonnes, where grains can be stored without jute bags for longer duration.

FCI will provide the rent assurance for 30 years. For the first year the rate is fixed at Rs 97 per tonne per month. The rates will keep on revising based on the predecided formula, the source added.

At present the total storage capacity under silos is about 10 lakh tonnes. Out of which 5.5 lakh tonnes is with FCI and remaining is with state-agencies.