State-owned miner Coal India Limited (CIL) has issued 35 tenders for transportation of coal from its mine pitheads to despatch points. The estimated investment expected is Rs 12,500 crore, said the company in a public statement.
The handling capacity of these 35 projects will be 406 million tonnes per year (MTPA). Each of these mining projects have production capacity of 4 MTPA and above. The expenditure would be met out of the company's capital expenditure, CIL's statement said.
Coal Handling Plants (CHPs) and Silos for rapid loading system would also be commissioned across six of its subsidiaries, under the tenders, CIL said. These will have additional facilities of crushing and sizing of coal and speedy computerised loading.
"Another upside is that with the reduced manual intervention, precise pre-weighed quantity of coal can be loaded. It also spurs loading of better quality coal," statement by the company said.
"Under mechanized transportation, coal would be moved through piped conveyor belt mode promoting cleaner environment. With reduced movement of coal laden trucks on roads it brings down dust pollution to the comfort of people residing in the proximity of the mines. CIL is undertaking a study through National Environmental Engineering Institute (NEERI), Kolkata particularly for assessing and quantifying benefits of environmental aspects of these projects," said the statement by CIL.
Currently, CIL spends around Rs 3,400 crore on coal transportation costs. This cost will come down with the introduction of mechanized coal transport in the first mile. CIL said it is expecting close to 12 per cent internal rate of return after switches over to the mechanized transport means.
“Improved loading time will bring down the wagon idling thus increasing their availability. Easing the load on road networks induces savings on diesel as well apart from positive environmental considerations. It will be an all-round win-win situation for the company, railways, consumers and villagers in the proximity of the mines,” said a senior executive of the company.
Mechanized conveyor system and computerized loading is operational in 19 projects of CIL having 151 MTPA capacity. With the new 35 Projects, the capacity would increase to 557 MTPA by 2023-24.
35 projects for mechanised coal transport:
| Subsidiary | No of projects | Total capacity |
| South-Eastern Coalfields | 9 | 136 MTPA |
| Mahanadi Coalfields | 9 | 126 MTPA |
| Norther Coalfields | 9 | 63 MTPA |
| Central Coalfields | 4 | 46 MTPA |
| Eastern Coalfields | 3 | 27 MTPA |
| Western Coalfields | 1 |
8 MTPA |
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