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The Coal Ministry on Friday said that it will complete 67 first mile connectivity projects with a capacity of handling 885 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2027.
“A review meeting was chaired by Coal Ministry Additional Secretary M Nagaraju to assess the progress of First Mile Connectivity (FMC) projects of coal companies. The Ministry of Coal takes up 67 FMC projects (59 – coal India (CIL), 5 - Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL) & 3 – NLC India (NLCIL)) with a capacity to load 885 mtpa. These projects will be completed by 2027,” the Ministry said in a statement.
In order to eliminate road transportation of coal in mines, the Ministry has developed a plan to improve the mechanised coal transportation and loading system under FMC projects. Crushing, coal size and quick computer-assisted loading are advantages of coal handling plants (CHPs) and silios with rapid loading systems, it added.
Reduced manual intervention, precise pre-weighed quantity, quicker loading, and better coal quality are all benefits of FMC projects. Rakes and wagons will be more readily available if loading times are reduced. Less traffic on the roads means less pollution and diesel consumption.
The Ministry has set a target to generate 1.3 billion tonne coal in FY25 and 1.5 bt in FY30 to increase India’s energy security and realise AatmaNirbhar Bharat by substituting domestically mined coal for imported coal. A key objective is the development of environmentally friendly, quick, and cost-effective coal transportation.
India’s coal production hit a milestone of 892 mt during FY23, which is a Y-o-Y growth of 14.7 per cent. The power sector continued to be the largest consumer of domestic coal, accounting for the total despatches of 737.9 MT during FY23, an increase of 9.1 per cent Y-o-Y.
According to CareEdge, total coal imports surged by 26.18 per cent Y-o-Y to 227.93 mt during April 2022 to February 2023 with non-coking coal accounting for 65 per cent of the imports.
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