Kolkata: Coal India Limited (CIL) reported capital expenditure of Rs 3,399 crore in the first quarter of 2026-27, up 16.64 percent from Rs 2,914 crore in the same quarter a year earlier, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The spend came in at 101.5 percent of its Rs 3,349 crore target for the quarter and accounted for 20.60 percent of CIL's Rs 16,500 crore capex target for the full year.
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Land acquisition and related rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) activities were the biggest spending head at Rs 804 crore, nearly a fourth of the quarter's capex. CIL said land acquisition is a prerequisite for mining, as projects cannot start or expand without it regardless of available reserves. The company has earmarked Rs 4,173 crore for land acquisition and related activities in FY27, the highest allocation among its annual capex heads.
CIL spent Rs 754 crore on railway sidings and rail corridors and a further Rs 195 crore on coal handling plants, silos, weighbridges and roads, taking spending on coal evacuation infrastructure to Rs 949 crore for the quarter ended June 2026. Capital expenditure under the plant and machinery (P&M) head, covering Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM), washery construction and expansion, and other equipment, stood at Rs 819 crore, also close to a fourth of the total.
"Expenditures on land acquisition, development of coal evacuation infrastructure, and plant & machinery constitute the major components of our capital expenditure. Together, these three broad heads accounted for over 75 percent of the total capex incurred during the first quarter. These strategic investments have laid a strong foundation for the company to achieve its production and supply targets for the ongoing fiscal," said B Sairam, Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India, who took charge of the top post in December 2025.
As part of its diversification into clean energy, CIL spent Rs 278 crore on solar projects during the quarter, while investments in its joint ventures amounted to Rs 207 crore.
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CIL spent Rs 19,607 crore in FY26, above its Rs 16,000 crore target for that year. Its capex target of Rs 16,500 crore for FY27 is set below what it actually spent in the preceding year.
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