NTPC, Gujarat govt ink pact to swap coal.

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Gujarat government run Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd. (GSECL) recently inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to swap one million tonne of coal. The arrangement is likely to help both the companies save Rs. 378 crore per one million tonne.

The agreement between NTPC and GSECL has been signed after a proposal for swapping coal was submitted to the Central Government two years back. Recently, the proposal of the Gujarat government was considered and approved by the Narendra Modi-led central government.

It may be mentioned here that GSECL receives domestic coal for its power plants located in Gujarat from Coal India Ltd's (CIL) mines in Chhattisgarh, which is transported through rail route. On the other hand, NTPC imports coal for its power plants located in Chhattisgarh from Gujarat-based ports. This, according to the state government, results cross country transportation and involves huge transportation cost. In order to bring down the freight cost, a proposal for swapping coal was sent to the Central government two years back.

BS