ECL to invest Rs 250 cr in Rajmahal mines

Eastern Coalfileds Ltd (ECL) has decided to invest about Rs 250 crore in expanding production capacity at its Rajmahal mines in Jharkhand from 11 million tonnes to 17 million tonnes. Bulk of the increased volume is likely to be consumed by NTPC���s power generation stations at Farakka and Kahelgaon.

���We are in the process of receiving various approvals, acquiring additional land and are in touch with NTPC since they need to enhance their coal handling capacity at Rajmahal which is equiped to handle about 11 mt of coal a year.

NTPC will also need to invest in doubling the existing line from Kahelgaon to Farakka. Currently, NTPC���s Kahelgaon generating station consumes 24,000 tonnes per day, while Farakka consumes about 15,000 tonnes per day,��� Mr S Chakrabarti, chairman and managing director, ECL told reporters at Rajmahal on Saturday.

���The investment of Rs 250 crore will mainly be done for over burden removal, while coal extraction from these new areas will be outsourced. Rajmahal hopes to touch a total production level of 17 mt by 2012,��� he added.