Coal India sets Rs 5,000 cr capex in 11th Plan

Kolkata: Coal India has lined up Rs 5,000 crore capital expenditure in the Eleventh Plan to acquire continuous miners, longwall faces, and other machineries to enhance the production from underground mines from the existing 43 million tonnes to 67 million tonnes.

The major chunk of the investment will go to South Eastern Coalfields and Western coalfieldsThe plan included acquisition of 40 continuous miners, opening new longwall faces, and acquisition of other modern machineries to reduce the cost of underground production from Rs 1,800 a tonne to approximately Rs 1,000 a tonne.

Tender plans

According to Mr N.C. Jha, Director-Technical, the company is also planning to float a global tender inviting expression of interests to develop, operate and maintain eight coal blocks on a long-term basis. The EoI will be followed by technology and financial bids.

Meanwhile, a joint venture with Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) has already initiated the process to set up a modern mining machinery production facility at the recently acquired MAMC facility in Durgapur.