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The country’s largest power producer NTPC has turned to inland waterways for transporting coal to its various stations.
The first consignment will land next month at Farakka power station in West Bengal. This will be followed by transportation of coal through National Waterways for its upcoming power plant at Barh near Patna in Bihar, and another station at Bongaigaon in Assam.
For seven years, NTPC will transport three million tonnes of imported coal each year from Haldia to Farakka through the National Waterway-I.
Competitive bidding
The transportation job has been offered through competitive bidding to Jindal ITF, which will help NTPC save nearly 15-20 per cent of the cost of transporting through land. The contractor has invested close to Rs 650 crore for the project. NTPC and State Governments run 10 thermal power plants along the Ganges, which is National Waterway-I. Another 10 plants are likely to be set up. This model can be utilised for coal transportation for more projects, a senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office said.
First unit
The power producer will commission the first 660 MW unit at Barh this financial year. The entire project will have a capacity of 3,300 MW, and will require 16 million tonnes of coal a year. Domestic coal linkage for the Barh station has been sealed from the Amrapali block of North Karanpura, which will be transported through the Railways. However, there is a proposal to blend high-grade imported coal with domestic fuel, which will require import of about three million tonnes a year.
This imported coal, likely to be sourced from Indonesia, after landing at Haldia, will be transported through waterways to Barh. The process may cost up to Rs 1,200 crore, sources said. NTPC has taken steps to offer contract for transporting coal through inland waterways for 10 years.
Similarly, for the 750-MW station at Bongaigaon, NTPC will require 3.32 million tonnes of coal, which will be sourced from North Eastern Coalfields and Eastern Coalfields.
Funding for project
“Keeping in view the large quantity of coal required and issues related to coal evacuation, it is likely that NTPC will import around 0.5 million tonnes. This can be transported through the Indo-Bangladesh protocol routes and National Waterway-II,” said the official.
He said funding for the project should not be difficult, as it can be arranged from the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region’s non-lapsable Central pool of resources.
> shishir.sinha@thehindu.co.in
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