Big guns to fight it out for coal blocks

By submitting technical bids, Anil Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Gautam Adani, Naveen Jindal, Anil Agarwal, and the Ruias have joined the race for the 23 producing coal blocks. It will be known on February 12, how many qualify to make the financial bid.

Technical bids for the blocks put under auction were opened on Tuesday by the Nominated Authority under the Ministry of Coal. While a total of 310 tender documents were purchased, some 180 technical bids were received. These included 54 bids for the six blocks reserved for the power sector.

Though the participants had to make a price bid upfront, the Authority did not disclose this key number. “The bids will be opened only on February 12, as we do not want players to allege that favours had been extended to those offering better prices,” said a senior Coal Ministry official.

Because these are producing blocks, the technical bids will be assessed on, among other aspects, the status of the existing plant in which at least 80 per cent investment should have been made, and tie up with end users, for instance with a power or cement producer. On February 12, the bid prices of those meeting these parameters will be disclosed, the official added.

In the case of the six blocks reserved for the power sector, the lowest bidder will win. The battle here is among Jindal Power Ltd, Adani Power, Essar Power, JSW Energy, GMR Group, GVK Group, and Anil Ambani’s Reliance Geothermal Power Pvt Ltd.

In the non-regulated sector, Aditya Birla Group companies Hindalco and UltraTech Cement will go up against Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, and Sesa Sterlite and BALCO. In most of the 17 blocks, these companies have put in multiple bids. Cement industry majors Ambuja Cement, ACC Cement and Jaiprakash Associates are also in the fray.

Asked if the existing owners who have bid for their mines would have any advantage, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said, “No. It is a level playing field, as the existing players will have to meet the parameters prescribed.”

On whether big corporate houses bidding for the same block under different group companies would restrict competition, Swarup said, “We see it differently… for us, it is more the merrier.”

In fact, it could have been many more for, according to many players, they could not place the bids as they did not have the software for appending the digital signature. To this, another official said the technical bids were open for over five days (from January 29 till noon on February 3). “This was sufficient time for them to get the necessary software.” The highest number of technical bids —16 — were received for the mine belonging to Sarada Energy & Mining Ltd in Chhattisgarh.