Pakistan Agriculture News

Establishment of 200 silos discussed

LAHORE – CEO PBIT Jahanzeb Burana chaired a comprehensive discussion that was held at Punjab Board of Investment and Trade with key concerned stakeholders including USAID PEEP, World Food Program and private investors to address the establishment of grain silos and their way forward.

The discussion stressed that an early establishment of ‘Food Grain Silos’ under public-private-partnership (PPP) will be significant achievement towards appropriate wheat storage in Punjab. The objective of this project is to ensure safe long term storage with minimum loss in quality of grain, efficient handling with minimum losses and removal of impurities, optimize capital investment and enabling efficient operations and maintenance. The participants stated that the new silos will be multi-purposed and will be vital in improving food storage in the province.

This initiative is based on a public-private partnership model to establish modern storage facilities throughout the province. Speaking at the ceremony, the representatives of PBIT informed that the government of Punjab plans to establish 200 near-farm wheat silos with a capacity of around 20,000 million tons each to ensure quality and availability of clean wheat throughout the year. The second phase of the project is targeting 100 sites across Punjab, a major leap forward from the initial 40 sites announced in first stage. This partnership with the USAID PEEP and World Food Program shall enable us to generate private sector investments and create many job opportunities.

As way forward, PBIT agreed to take up the lessons learned in the first phase of the project with concerned authorities to allow a successful execution of grain silos in Punjab. The participants appreciated PBIT team for holding this discussion and offering their utmost support being the one window stop for investors and business community.