The Centre has configured a plan to attract Rs 5,000 crore investment from private sector to develop additional storage capacity of 126 lakh tonnes of food grains in the current fiscal (2009-10). According to a government official, "The tender for the creation of additional storage infrastructure will be issued this month by the Food Corporation of India (FCI)."
According to the government's plan, private companies will be given five-year guarantee for construction of warehouses and silos to raise the storage capacity in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. "The government would store food grains for five years after the construction is completed as it would help the private sector an assured business for a particular period," the official added.
About 140 lakh tonnes of wheat procured in 2008-09 season have not yet found a roof and are lying in the open in Punjab and Haryana.
Over 8,000 tonnes of "A" grade paddy in the custody of Punjab Agro Food Grain Corporation and another 2,500 tonnes of paddy of Punjab State Ware Housing Corporation, purchased at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 775 per quintal in 2007-08, have been rotting due to lack of storage space, according to a report in The Economic Times.
Trade sources said the average cost of building a warehouse is 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 126 lakh tonnes.
The current storage capacity of FCI and the Central Warehousing Corporation is about 275.59 lakh tonnes and 105 lakh tonnes respectively.
Source : fnbnews
|