Coal Ministry aims at 100m tonne output via MDOs
Targetting a coal production of 100 million tonnes by 2016-17 through mine developers and operators (MDO) model for Coal India, the Coal Ministry is in dialouge with the Finance Ministry regarding finalisation of bidding documents.
December 06, 2012 / 18:57 IST
Targetting a coal production of 100 million tonnes by 2016-17 through mine developers and operators (MDO) model for Coal India, the Coal Ministry is in dialouge with the Finance Ministry regarding finalisation of bidding documents. "We are in dialogue with the Finance Ministry to further refine those agreements of bidding documents," Srivastava said here one the sidelines the CII-organised International Mining Conclave. Srivastava also said that he expects private coal production to be at least 100 million tonnes by the end of the 12th plan through MDOs when Coal India's production is targetted at 615 million tonnes during 2016-17.
Also Read:Coal production from CIL, SCCL at 280MT till Nov this fiscCIL has signed fuel supply pacts with 33 power units: GovtCIL has to pay reserve price for 116 coal blocks: GovtMDO is a model by which Coal India outsources coal production from private sector. Srivastava said it was a medium through which not only domestic commercial companies, but also foreign companies could participate. Currently, production through this model is about 29 million tonnes, while with the addition of another four mines in the current fiscal it would be around 49 million tonnes by the end of this financial year, he said.According to reports, the bidding document will look into various issues including land acquisition and also development aspects of mining. Srivastava said that except for coal block allocation, Coal India and other private coal producers were treated at par when it came to issues like forest, land and environment clearances. When asked about price pooling, he said it was under "active deliberations". Under price pooling, a common rate is arrived at for similar grades of coal by taking the average price of domestic and imported coal.A few state governments, including power producers, have opposed this idea apprehending rise in fuel cost. Srivastava also indicated that for exploration, some work of the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Ltd would be outsourced as the Coal Ministry had set a target to exploring four lakh metres to 15 lakh metres in the next two years. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
