Coal India (CIL) subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields (SECL) recently launched three projects that are poised to accelerate its coal production and dispatch.
The three projects inaugurated by CIL Chairman Pramod Agrawal include Rail Rapid Load Out System (RRLOS) in Gevra area under First Mile Connectivity (FMC), workshop complex in Kusmunda area, and Baroud siding in Raigarh area.
The SECL under Chairman-cum-Managing Director Prem Sagar Mishra has swung into action to meet the target of 200 mt of coal production set for FY24. In FY23, the company failed to meet the 182 mt target and ended up with 167 mt, which was 17 per cent more than the previous year. According to an SECL spokesperson, the company has set up a workshop for repair and maintenance requirements of heavy earth moving machinery (HEMMs).
The projects also include sub-systems like dumper washing, bay lubrication, compressed air, EOT crane, power supply, indoor and outdoor lighting, communication, ventilation, and firefighting.
The workshop also has provision for HEMM machinery, such as an excavation complex, E&M complex, store complex, substation, pump house, administrative office, canteen, first aid centre.
The Rapid Loading System (RLS) project at Gevra, which is set to become Asia’s largest coal mine with 70 mtpa capacity, has entailed an investment of Rs. 222 crore. With the RLS, 20 million tonnes (mt) of coal will be dispatched every year, the spokesperson said. The capacity of the bunker built in the RLS project is nearly 30,000 tonnes. From the bunker, 4,500 to 5,500 tonnes of coal can be loaded into rail rakes per hour, the spokesperson added.
The complex in Kusmunda, the second largest mine of SECL with a capacity of 50 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), has been set up with an estimated cost of Rs. 248 crore in 16 hectares.
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The SECL is procuring over 400 HEMMs that include 261 dumpers with capacity between 60 tonnes to 240 tonnes.
The Baroud siding with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes per day will facilitate loading four rakes of coal daily from Raigarh area. Further, under the FMC project, a coal handling plant with a capacity of 10 mt per annum is being constructed at Baroud enabling daily dispatch of six coal rakes, the spokesperson said.