Construction of modern silos for storing wheat by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) under the public-private partnership (PPP) model has gathered pace, with the corporation aiming to add around 5 million tonne (MT) capacities over the next two years.
An official told FE that so far, construction of silos with 3.9 MT capacity, each with a capacity in the range of 25,000-50,000 tonne, has been completed across 76 locations by private players since 2021. “Over 2.35 MT of silos capacities across 53 locations are under construction while over 2.72 MT of modern storage facilities will be created in the next two years,” an official. This would take FCI’s silos capacities to 9 MT by 2028, significantly boosting the corporation’s storage infrastructure.
Adani, Leap India lead silo projects
According to the official, two private entities – Adani Agri Logistics (2.82 MT) and Leap India Food & Logistics (1.82 MT) – have secured contracts for construction of 4.65 MT of silos capacities. Other entities include SAR Transport Systems, Sabina Arora consortiums and Shree Karni traders. This is part of a RS 11,000-crore project to build wheat silos with 11 MT capacity during the next four years under the PPP mode. These silos are situated across Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Jammu, Uttarakhand and Kerala.
A food ministry official said that while grain damage in conventional storage facilities has steadily declined over recent years — from 10,348 tonnes in 2023-24 to around 2,247 tonnes in 2025-26, there has been no reported damage of foodgrain stored in silos since their inception. As part of a pilot initiative, two rice silos with a combined storage capacity of 25,000 tonne have been built at Buxar and Kaimur in Bihar, by private entities. According to official studies, studies are being conducted to ascertain the utility and viability of rice silos before being scaled up.
30-year lease model for wheat storage
The wheat silos are being built under the design, build, fund, own and transfer (DBFOT) mode, under which the land is owned by the FCI and via the design, build, fund, own and operate (DBFOO) model, under which land belongs to private entities. The FCI uses these for storage of wheat through a lease of 30 years with private entities. Fixed storage charges to be paid by the FCI to private entities, based on a per-tonne, per-year basis, are the bidding parameters.
Sources said FCI currently pays ~756–1,056 per tonne annually for storing wheat in silos across locations.The FCI typically stores 50-60 MT of rice and wheat, on average, in silos to ensure better preservation of food grains.
In 2005, under a pilot project to modernise storage infrastructure, construction of 0.5 MT of storage capacity under the build, own and operate (BOO) model was carried out by Adani Agri Logistics. Subsequently, on recommendation of a high-level committee chaired by former food minister Shanta Kumar in 2015, construction of silos with railway sidings commenced.Then the food ministry approved a ‘hub and spoke’ model because of challenges faced in land acquisition for railway sidings.
TOPICSFCIThis article was first uploaded on June five, twenty twenty-six, at twenty-seven minutes past eight in the morning. © The Indian Express (P) Ltd