Coal India to procure Rs 13,000 crore mining equipment in three years

6th Aug 2018

State-owned miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) has decided to procure mining equipment worth USD two billion through global tender over the next three years to ramp up coal production to meet the growing demand.

“We’ll procure mining equipment of Rs 12,000-13,000 crore in the next three years,” Coal India Chairman Anil Kr Jha said. He said this year contracts worth Rs 4000-5000 crore could be placed with the vendors.

Jha said that he desired that PSUs to bid for contracts and expected that they would match international parameters. Coal India has set a target of producing 630 million tonnes in 2018-19 and one billion tonne in the next three to four years.

CIL’s productivity per man each shift has been much below than international benchmark of 13 tonnes per man shift, he said adding that the Coal Ministry had asked the miner to follow the international parameters in cost of production, quality, grade, equipment performance, unit cost of production and environmental concerns.

“We have asked CMPDIL to do the assessment. Benchmarking in coal mining is not the same like manufacturing of other goods,” Jha said. He said to meet the yardstick of the best global standard was difficult due to socio-economic factors in India. “But, if we know our position then we can definitely improve from we are now,” Jha said.

Jha was speaking on the side-line of an event of MoU signing between BEML and Heavy Engineering Corporation to produce mining equipment jointly.

The collaboration will help both the BEML and the HEC to manufacture rope shovels and walking draglines of various capacities with higher indigenisation in lesser time and cost leveraging strength, company sources said.

Source: PTI