Regional Coal: Coal India sets production target of 343 mt for '05-06
Monday, April 11 2005 - 04:36 AM WIB
The production target is about 30 mt more compared to that in 2004-05. Of the total despatch target for the current fiscal, 261 mt will go to the thermal power sector, while the remaining 83 mt will cater to the cement, steel and fertilisers and other non-core industries.
CIL has been advised to gear up its production subsidiaries to achieve the production target, to ease the rising demand and supply of coal. The demand for non-coking coal is steadily increasing with improved plant load factor in all thermal power stations in the country, which are either managed and controlled by State electricity boards or by National Thermal Power Corporation and Damodar Valley Corporation.
A senior CIL source said the company was confident of crossing the higher target as it did during the fiscal ended March 2005, when it produced 323 mt against the production target of 314 mt and despatched about 249 mt to the thermal power stations against a supply commitment of 240 mt.
Coal India despatched about 234 mt to power stations in 2003-04. Citing figures, the source said despatch to the power sector was steadily increasing each fiscal, although the company had not been allowed to invest in large mines for the last couple of years. The company was augmenting production from the existing mines only, thereby depleting a substantial portion of the reserves.
He said the Ministry has now allowed CIL take up new mines so that it can achieve higher production targets in the 11th Plan. A total of 99 new projects had been identified to achieve an annual production of over 450 mt by the terminal year of the 10 th Plan.(*)