New Delhi: Scripting a record high, Coal India Limited (CIL) has approved 32 coal mining projects in the current fiscal till January 2021, which indicate an estimated incremental capital of around Rs 47,300 crore. While 24 of the 32 are expansion of the existing projects, the rest eight are new greenfield projects. The combined incremental peak capacity of these projects is projected at 193 Million Tonnes/Year (MT/Y). This will be in addition to the already sanctioned capacity of 303.5 MT/Y.
The approval of the projects enables coal companies of CIL to escalate their production in the ensuing years. The CIL board and the boards of the respective subsidiary companies have given their nod for the move. CIL is targeting to raise its coal production to 1 Billion Tonnes (BT) by FY 2023-24.
The 32 projects would lead to an incremental production of 81 MT/year by FY24. "Such high number, either in terms of projects or capacity addition, has not been cleared in a single financial year so far," said a senior official of the company. CIL is striving to replace the coal imports through its own coal and any increase in domestic production would play a catalytic role in this effort.
Of the 193 MT/year capacity, the three subsidiaries of CIL — South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) form the bulk at 86.5 percent, which works out to be around 167 MT/year.
SECL with six projects at an estimated incremental investment of Rs 18,657 crore, accounts for 63.5 MT/year, followed by CCL at an investment of Rs 7,520 crore for 10 projects of 56.6 MT/year. MCL with three projects would add up to 47 MT/year at an investment of Rs 14,057 crore. The rest, nearly 26 MT/year would be met through ECL, NCL and WCL, with the remaining investment between them.
"Concurrently, in tandem with production, the company is also strengthening the rail evacuation infrastructure through setting up rail lines, sidings and first-mile connectivity projects in the companies from where the majority of the output is expected," said the an official.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Telegram. Join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram and stay updated)