Coal India to invest Rs 24,750 crore in 61 eco-friendly projects

CIL in 2021 had planned 35 FMC projects with a capacity of 414.5 MTPA. Out of these, currently 8 FMC projects of 112 MTPA capacity are already operational

National miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Tuesday said it would invest Rs 24,750 crore in capital expenditure (capex) to build 61 first-mile connectivity (FMC) projects to boost eco-friendly coal transportation. 

Once completed, these projects – to be set up in three phases — would have a combined capacity of 765 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of coal, the company said in a statement.

FMCs are considered eco-friendly, safer, and more efficient than using a truck to transport coal from mine to rail siding.

In 2021, CIL had planned 35 FMC projects with a capacity of 414.5 mtpa. Eight of these projects of 112 mtpa capacity are operational.

The move was part of the Rs 20 trillion Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package, announced by the finance ministry in 2021. It included Rs 50,000 crore for creating coal evacuation infrastructure and Rs 18,000 crore for mechanised coal transport.

The national miner said it was close to commissioning 17 more FMC projects of 178 mtpa by the end of this financial year (FY24). The remaining projects, with a capacity of 124.5 mtpa, are expected to be operative by FY25, it said.

The upcoming second and third phases would account for evacuation capacities of 57 mtpa and 292 mtpa, respectively, and the investments would be about Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 11,500 crore.

FMC projects involve the transport of coal through mechanised piped conveyors from the point of coal production to the coal handling plants/silos. These units have mechanised rapid-loading systems to load the coal directly onto railway wagons.

Under the second phase, five projects, of 21.5 mtpa capacity, are expected to be commissioned by FY25. The remaining projects are in different stages of progress. For the third phase, tenders have been floated for three projects of 65 mtpa capacity, while nine will be executed through mine developers and operators. These projects are expected to be commissioned by FY29, CIL said. 

In an interview with Business Standard, earlier this year, former CIL chairman and managing director Pramod Agarwal had said while CIL’s excavation part was already mechanised, the company planned to have a complete supply chain till siding was fully mechanised by 2027-28. “Adoption of digitalisation and automation processes, infusion of cost-effective and energy-efficient technologies, greater operational efficiency, and improving coal quality will help lower our production costs,” he had said.