The eight sick units open for private bidding include Banmakhi, Goraul, Hathua, Lauriya, Motipur, Warsliganj, Lohat and Sugauli. All these mills along with seven other closed mills were one time the hot property of the Bihar State Sugar Development Corporation. However, gradually, one by one, all of them closed in the course of time.

Despite depressed sentiments in the sugar sector, the government is convinced the private players will be interested in the bid, seeking control of the closed companies on a long-term lease basis.

"Private players willing to set up greenfield projects have to contend with land acquisition problems. From this point of view, the players evincing interest in the take over of the closed mills will not have to encounter any such hassle. The closed mills are already in place and have their own lands," sugarcane development minister Nitish Mishra told ET.

Some of the potential investors in the sugar sector who had even submitted their proposals to the government were of late not keen on pushing through with their investment plans keeping in view the prevailing downtrend cycle in the sugar sector.

Another reason why they may be putting on hold their investment plans could be because they now fancy investments in the closed sugar mills as a far more credible and prudent option.