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The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has started price negotiations with cement companies for supply to concrete road projects through INAM-Pro, a web-based portal for infrastructure and materials providers launched by the Ministry in March 2015.
Three-year deal “The new price will be for a period of three years starting April 1, 2016. Negotiations were held with over 25 cement companies that will supply specific quantities of cement at an agreed price for customers ordering through the portal,” said Sanjay Saju, Director (Fin/Admn), National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd, which runs the portal.
Since the start of the portal, nearly four lakh tonnes of cement has been ordered. Things will pick up once the price is fixed for three years, he told BusinessLine . The quantity of cement to be supplied by each company is yet to be fixed, he said.
There are 500 buyers registered on Inam-Pro, which stands for platform for infrastructure and materials providers, said Sahu.
Facilitating price change Meanwhile, there are plans to change the price structure wherein sellers can supply at a negotiated price for each buyer. In the earlier pricing, if the company sells at a price to a buyer, that rate will be the base price for all other customers. This did not help the sellers. There will also be an escalation clause, sources said.
The portal facilitated contractors/ cement buyers engaged in executing Central and State-funded road projects to place cement orders online with the registered cement companies offering cement at competitive rates in the vicinity of project execution locations.
Cement suppliers through the portal were eligible for Excise Duty, Sales Tax and Freight, sources said.
Transparency Sources said hitherto details such as price negotiated for the supply was known only between the buyer and the seller. However, through online payment through the portal, the Ministry and various stakeholders will be able to monitor the price and the quantity supplied.
INAM-Pro allows buyers and suppliers to have fair understanding of stocks, prices and orders placed. The price of cement through the portal ranged between ₹165 and ₹210 (ex-factory), which was far below the market price, sources said.
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