Coal India's April-December Capex Up 37% At Rs 10,717 Crore

Country's largest producer of dry fuel Coal India Limited (CIL) said on Wednesday that its capex spend during the April-December period of current fiscal was Rs 10,717 crore, a growth of Rs 37.4 per cent on year-on-year basis.

The company's capex during the corresponding period of last year was Rs 7,801 crore, according to a statement issued by CIL.

Also its capex spend during the referred period marks 86.3 per cent of the progressive target achievement.

The growth has come at a time when the government has been exhorting the public sector entities to step up their annual capex, the company said.

The three major heads - land acquisition, procurement of heavy earth moving machinery and joint ventures (primarily Hindustan Urvarak Rasayan Limited and Talcher Fertilizers Limited) - at Rs 5,786 crore, accounted for 54 per cent of the total capex during April-December period.

Among other major heads, construction of coal handling plants, silos with Rs 1,344 crore and rail sidings and rail corridors at Rs 1,785 crore made up for 29 per cent of CIL's entire capex during the first nine months of 2021-22.

CIL is focusing on increasing its evacuation capacity through rail mode by an additional 330 million tonnes per annum by 2023-24 through strengthening of its rail infrastructure.

Mainly deployed in opencast mines, the major source of the company's coal production, these machines would help in removal of overburden and ramp up the coal output, the statement said.