The Ministry of Coal (MoC), in a latest development, has initiated a re-attempt to auction coal blocks that had received a single bid in the previous round of commercial mining auctions.
The second tranche of commercial mines auctions had witnessed dwindling interest from bidders. But the sales process remains far from over.
It may be recalled that the ministry had offered an expanded pool of 67 blocks in the second tranche of the auctions, wherein bids came in for 19 blocks in the technical round.
Among the 19 blocks, only 8 qualified for the final round and were eventually sold. But, the remaining 11 blocks did not qualify, as they had received only a single bid each which was against the criteria stipulated for coal block sales.
However, the ministry has now considered these blocks for sale via a re-attempt, with an added relaxation that the coal block would be in contention for sale even when a single bid is received against it.
Bidders in contention
Coal blocks offered for re-sale include a mixed bag of small-to-large capacity mines whose geological reserves range from 27-2,500 million tonnes (mn t).
The latest round of auctions would be a new sales process altogether, where bidders would have to submit their bids as per norms of the scheme.
However, these blocks would be on the radar of some of the bidders who had shown interest in the previous rounds.
In particular, Aurobindo Realty would be keen to add a coal block to its kitty, after it had missed out on three in the first attempt during the second round of the auctions.
Moreover, industry heavyweights such as Hindalco, BALCO and Vedanta are also expected to procure a block to secure long-term fuel-supply.
Timeline for auctions
The Nominated Authority (NA) carrying out the sales process has set 29 Nov’21 as the due date for bid submissions. Thereafter, bids for the coal blocks will be examined and scheduled for the final round of auction which is slated to begin from 23 Dec’21.
- Last date of registration: 22 Nov’21
- Last date of sale of tender document: 24 Nov’21
- Bid due date: 29 Nov’21
- Opening of technical bids: 30 Nov’21
- Examination of technical bids: 1-22 Dec’21
- Conduct of electronic auction: 23 Dec’21-5 Jan’22
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