February 13, 2012

Modern grain storage facilities which will initially hold 250,000 tonnes of grain will be constructed by the Government of Sindh under Public Private Partnership mode in five districts of the province, a statement said on Thursday (Feb 9).

The designated districts for the construction of the silos include Ghotki, Khairpur, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad and Karachi. Each district would have silos for holding 50,000 tonnes of grain.

In this regard, a high level meeting of Technical and Financial Evaluation Committee (TFEC) for Modern Grain Storage Facility Project was held under chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary, Planning and Development. Secretary food, Secretary Finance, Secretary Agriculture, Director General, PPP Unit, Director Food and other government official attended the meeting, a statement here on Thursday said.

The representatives of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) briefed the participants on the important features of the project. An IFC official informed that the people from private sector would construct the grain storage facilities and would maintain and operate the facilities for 20 years period.

The Government of Sindh would pay the concessionaire the service charges for the storage and handling of wheat. This would be multi grain storage facility, allowing other than wheat, the rice, corn, and barley to be stored as well.

The new system would benefit all stakeholders including farmers, government, millers and consumers. The consumers would therefore, get quality wheat at reasonable price. The participants were also informed that the involvement of private sector would save considerable amount of public funds, because investor would bring their own money.

Moreover, this public private partnership arrangement would ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability. This project shall provide quality service in the shape of quality grain to the people and stop pilferage too.

In the end, the TFEC unanimously approved the publication of EOI (Expression of Interest) for the construction of Modern Grain Storage Facility under PPP modality for developer's solicitation in the month of February.