New Delhi: State-run Coal India’s capital expenditure has increased 6.5% in FY24 to ₹19,840 crore. It is the highest ever capex recorded by Coal India in a year.
“Comparatively, the capex was ₹18,619 crore in the preceding fiscal year. CIL achieved 120% target satisfaction over the year’s capex target of ₹16,500 crore. For the fourth fiscal on sequence, CIL’s capex breached the budgeted target,” a company statement said.
Capex for coal transportation and handling infrastructure in its mining areas was highest at ₹6,070 crore, which is 30.6% of the year’s total capital expenditure. The higher capex is in line with the company’s plans to have adequate infrastructure to evacuate increased quantities of coal produced in future.
“This includes setting up first mile connectivity projects with coal handling plants and silos; rail sidings, rail lines and roads. South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) accounted for 65.4% of this head with ₹2,214 crore and ₹1,754 crore, respectively,” the statement said.
The capex on land acquisition and associated rehabilitation processes during the last fiscal stood at ₹5,135 crore, posting a jump of 52.5% over ₹3,367 crore of FY23. CIL requires large tracts of land to enhance its production from opencast mines which account for 96% of the company’s total output.
CIL’s three subsidiaries Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), SECL and MCL lined up 77.3% of the capex for land acquisition and rehabilitation. CCL led the list with ₹1,909 crore spent for land acquisition, followed by SECL at ₹1,159 crore and MCL spending ₹904 crore.
These three companies are expected to together contribute around 68% to CIL’s 1 billion tonnes of output goal.
Procurement of heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM) made up the third highest head with ₹3,078 crore during FY24, achieving the target satisfaction of 156.5%. The target was ₹1,965 crore. Northern coalfields spent ₹2,262 crore for procurement of HEMMs.
The remaining capex amounting to ₹5,557 crore was spread among areas including solar projects, joint ventures, washeries, other plant and machinery, mine development activities including safety, environment, exploration & prospecting and office equipment among others.
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Published: 16 Apr 2024, 03:01 PM IST