Odisha’s MCL expects 35mt rise with new rail line by June 2016

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Oct 28:

Odisha headquartered Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) is likely to get a shot in its arm after its key railway line between Barpali and Jharsuguda becomes functional in June 2016.

As per a press release issued by the company today, MCL Chairman-cum-Managing Director AN Sahay today traveled about 35 kms on the partly built track and inspected the progress of the project. Railway officials present on the occasion also expressed confidence about getting the project completed on time.

Completion of the 52-km-long Barpali-Jharsuguda line will solve evacuation problem in the coal-rich Basundhara fields in Odisha’s Sundergarh, Coal India said in the press release.

The single line project, estimated at a cost of Rs 1,007 crore, is projected to increase offtake from MCL by 35 million tonnes. This would also increase the dispatch to 45 million tonne from Basundhara and Siarmal project areas, which will further feed about nine million tonne to its proposed 800×2 MW super critical thermal power plant within the area.

MCL, a subsidiary of Coal India and a Government of India Enterprise, has restricted production from the Basundhara and Siarmal project areas of Ib Valley Coalfields and evacuated only 10 million tonnes of coal through road.

It targets production of 250 million tonnes by 2020 and has earmarked Rs 2,400 crore for doubling of the Jharsuguda-Barpali rail link.

It may be noted that, MCL is one of the major coal producing companies of India and contributes up to 25 percent of Coal India’s total output. It is one of the eight subsidiaries of Coal India Limited which was carved out of South Eastern Coalfields Limited in 1992 with its headquarters at Sambalpur. It has seven open cast mines and three underground coal mines spread across Odisha. MCL has two subsidiaries with private companies as a joint venture namely MJSJ Coal Limited and MNH Shakti Ltd.