Coal India Ltd (CIL), an Indian public sector coal mining and refining company headquartered in Kolkata, announced that it will be investing over 1.22 lakh crore rupees on development of nearly 500 projects related to coal evacuation, infrastructure, project development, exploration and clean coal technologies in the country.
The investment aims at making India self-reliant in terms of coal and achieve the production target of 1 billion tonnes by 2023-2024, Coal India said in a press note.
Commenting on the development, Pralhad Joshi, Coal and Mines Minister, said involvement of all concerned stakeholders in the company’s affairs will reduce and uncover the project risks. He informed that the national miner, CIL, will be investing around 14 thousand 200 crore rupees over the next 3 to 4 years, in two phases for its 49 First Mile Connectivity projects. First Mile Connectivity is the transportation of coal from pitheads to dispatch points. Computer-aided loading technology of coal is being developed to replace the existing methodology of transportation via road.
In the stakeholders meeting organised by CIL, Coal India also announced an array of measures for relaxations and exemptions for greater participation of its stakeholders. The experience criteria has been brought down from 65 per cent to 50 per cent for mining tenders, while work experience criteria are relaxed by 50 per cent in turnkey contracts.
Coal India has also identified 15 greenfield projects which will be operated under the Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) model. Overall nearly 34 thousand 600 crore rupees will be invested through this route. The investment will result in job creation in the sector. Also, the investment will revive the coal sector as it is reeling under huge losses.
According to media reports, Coal India is incurring daily net cash losses of ₹190-200 crore as sales are down and customers are delaying payment. Before the lockdown, it managed daily cash profits of ₹50-60 crore. In April, sales and production dropped 26% and 11%, respectively, compared to April 2019. Dues from state power companies rose to a record ₹16,500 crore towards the end of April from about ₹14,000 crore at the end of March.
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