Angul (Odisha): Coal evacuation from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd's (MCL) Talcher coalfields has got a major boost with the inauguration of a 14-km-long Angul-Balram rail link, which would enable MCL to increase the daily despatch of coal to consumers by about 40 thousand tonnes. Constructed by MCRL (Mahanadi Coal Railway Limited), a Joint Venture Company (JV) of MCL, IRCON International Ltd and IDCO, the rail link was inaugurated on Thursday by Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for Coal, along with Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Education and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways.
Coal Secretary Amrit Lal Meena, Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, Coal India Limited (CIL), MCL CMD OP Singh, Director (Personnel) Keshav Rao, Director (Technical) Jugal Kumar Borah and Director (Finance) Ajit Kumar Behura were prominent among senior officers present at the inaugural ceremony.
The Angul-Balram rail link is the first phase of a total 68-km-long Inner Corridor — Angul-Balram-Putugadia-Jarapada-Tentuloi — which will cater to the coal mines of Talcher coalfields in the Angul district of Odisha.
In MCRL, MCL, as a representative of the Ministry of Coal, has 64 percent equity shares, while IRCON, representing the Ministry of Railways, has 26 percent and IDCO, representing the government of Odisha, has 10 percent equity shares. This JV was formed in 2015 to undertake project development, financing and implementation of a common rail corridor for the identified coal projects in the state of Odisha.
The Inner Corridor is being implemented by MCRL in two phases. In Phase-I, 14-km-long Angul-Balram Rail Link was to be constructed, while in Phase-II, 54-km-long Balram-Putugadia-Jarapada-Tentuloi rail-link would be completed. IRCON International Ltd is the implementing agency of this project which is developed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,700 crore.
The commissioning of the first phase, the Angul-Balram rail link, has enhanced the potential of MCL to despatch coal by 10 more rakes daily.
The rail-link will also facilitate the evacuation of dry fuel from the coal blocks allotted to miners other than the Coal India in Talcher coalfields.
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