Registration for bidders interested in the e-auction of coal blocks opened on Thursday with Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy launching the portal.

Interested bidders would need to register on the MSTC website. Goyal said that the entire auction will be conducted online.

“No hard copies of tender documents will be given. Everything will be online but the bank guarantee comprising the bid security and an undertaking stating all information is true and correct need to be submitted in the hard copy,” a senior Coal Ministry official added.

Bidders will first need to send in a technical bid with a price offer for qualification by January 31, 2015. Only half of the qualified bidders (subject to a minimum of five bidders) will then be allowed to participate in the financial bid stage.

The list of qualified bidders will be placed on the MSTC website on February 12, 2015 with the e-auction taking place between February 14 and February 22.

The Coal Ministry expects to execute the Coal Mine Development and Production Agreement and issue the Vesting Order by March 23, which would conclude the process.

The timeline is for the first phase where 24 blocks be auctioned and 17 will be allocated to State and Central public sector units.

“The second phase of auction for 32 coal mines will commence soon,” an official statement added.

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