Minister lays foundation stone of Rs 732-cr coal handling projects in Jharkhand

Union Minister Satish Chandra Dubey has laid the foundation stone of two coal handling projects worth Rs 732 crore in Jharkhand, an official statement said on Monday.

A coal handling plant is a facility that is used to store, process, and transport coal.

"Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines Satish Chandra Dubey yesterday laid the foundation stone of Karo Coal Handling Plant and Konar Coal Handling Plant in Bokaro and Kargali area of CCL (Central Coalfields Ltd)," the ministry statement said.

CCL is an arm of Coal India Ltd.

The two plants will be an important step towards first-mile rail connectivity under which arrangements will be made to take the coal produced from the mines to the nearest railway circuit. The coal will then be transported to thermal power plants and other consumers across the country.

Currently, coal from these mines is brought to the railway siding by road.

The capacity of these two projects is 7 million tonne per annum and 5 million tonne per annum.

The Konar plant is worth Rs 322 crore, while the cost of the Karo coal handling plant is Rs 410 crore.

With the commencement of these projects, the current rake loading time will be reduced considerably which will speed up the dispatch of coal.