Punjab cancels tenders for silos, lowest bidder Adani disappointed.

The Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PWSC) has cancelled tenders for setting up 11 grain silos across the state, leaving Adani Agri Logistics Limited disappointed as it had offered the lowest bids in most of the projects.

The corporation has readvertised the tenders, bids of which would be opened Tuesday. The reason attributed for cancellation is that the cost was high and economically unviable for PWSC.

'We are disappointed. We do not know the reasons behind the cancellation. But we are trying hard to prepare a project and bid for the project in tomorrow’s conference,' said Puneet Mehndiratta, General Manager Adani Agri Logistics.

The Adani Group were the lowest bidders in three out of four groups of 11 silos, of 25,000 metric ton capacity each. Now, PWSC has enhanced the capacity of silos from 37,000 metric tons to 50,000 metric tons.

Only three months ago, Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal was batting for the Adani Group to set up the silos, against the wishes of his brother-in-law, Food Minister Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon.

At a May 21 cabinet meeting chaired by Sukhbir - neither CM Badal nor Kairon were present - it was decided to make PSWC the executing agency, while PUNGRAIN, which answers to Kairon, was allowed to go ahead with the construction of its own 5 lakh tonne capacity silos at ten places in the State.

The PWSC project, worth Rs. 130 crore funded by NABARD and PWSC on (90:10) basis, was advertised by the corporation last month and bids were called through e-tendering amidst controversy that the silos were divided into four groups and the interested company had to bid for all the groups.

This prompted some smaller agri-logistics players to level allegations that the tenders were tailor-made so as to help only major agri logistics companies.

These silos, to be constructed under Engineering, Procurement and and Construction (EPC) model, are to come up in Chheharta, Bhulath, Chawa Payal, Sangrur, Bathinda and Ajitwal and create a storage space of 2.87 lakh metric tons.

Earlier, the silos were advertised for Nurmehal, Macchiwara, Mullanpur, Patran, Sirhind and Jalalabad also.

'The silos have to be set up before the next wheat season.,' said H S Brar, Additional Managing Director, PWSC.

The company that would set up the silos would construct it for the state and operate it for 20 years to recover its cost.

The PWSC would pay them operation and maintenance cost. Later, these would be handed over to the state, said sources.

While the tenders under the EPC model have been recalled, the PWSC has also readvertised tenders for 10 more silos in different parts of PPP model.


THE INDIAN EXPRESS