State-run Coal India says that it aims at raising
production capacity by 180 million tonne over the next five years.
“We aim at 8 percent growth in capacity in the current
Plan period (2012-2017) to 180 million tonne. It is the combination of what we
produced in the last three Plan periods,” Coal India Chairman S Narsing
Rao.
Coal India has set a production target of 464 million tonne
for the current financial year. The company had achieved 435.84 million tonne
in 2011-12 against the targeted 447 million tonne. Rao said the company has
also asked the government to expedite the law for land acquisition and
rehabilitation so that acquiring land for projects could be easier and clear.
At present, 50 percent of coal is transported by railways
when it should be much more, Rao said. The world's largest coal producer, CIL
has identified 142 new projects, including 107 open cast and 35 underground
mining schemes with an ultimate capacity of 380.22 million tonne per annum
(MTPA), as new projects and a part of it is likely to be added during this Plan
period.
Earlier, CIL had said it wanted to take production capacity
to 556 million tonne (MT) by 2016-17. CIL had also said that it was in the
process of earmarking about Rs 30,000 crore for capacity expansion during the
12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) period.
Leave a Reply