Centre gets 38 bids from technical experts for DBFOT bid to establish silos in 14 locations

New Delhi, Aug 16 : Officials in the Department of Food and Public Distribution declared on Tuesday that they had received overwhelming responses to technical bids of Design, Build, Fund, Own & Operate (DBFOT) tender to design and build the capacity of 111.125 LMT of Hub and Spoke silos at 249 sites across the nation.

The total of 15 potential bidders have expressed interest and submitted bids.The technical evaluation is expected be completed in three to four weeks.In order to modernize the storage facilities for foodgrains in the country, the Department of Food and Public Distribution had suggested to construct an capacity of 111.125 LMT of Hub and Spoke silos at 249 sites all over the country.Hub and Spoke model is a transport system that combines the transportation assets of isolated locations, referred to as Spoke and an centralized location known as a hub for long-distance transportation.

Hubs have a specific railroad siding and a container depot, while the transport between Spoke to Hub is carried out via roads and also from Hub to Hub via rail.This model, through taking advantage of the effectiveness of railway sidings, enhances cost efficiency by utilizing large storage and movement which reduces the cost and time of transportation and handling, and reduces operational complexities in the context of economic growth and infrastructure development, as well as employment creation in the nation.

Additionally, silo has been declared as a sub-mandi yard that facilitates the process of purchasing for farmers and results in reduction in costs for logistics, according to an official of the department of food.In the Hub and Spoke model the department has a plan to build the capacity of 111.125 LMT of Hub and Spoke silos in 249 points across the nation.kvm/ar.