State-owned CIL on Friday said its capital expenditure jumped more than two fold to Rs 1,840 crore in the first quarter of 2021-22 compared to Rs 844 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Coal India in a statement said the capital expenditure rose twofold in the first quarter of FY22 as it continues to step up investments in evacuation infrastructure, land acquisition and procurement of heavy equipment.
CIL has achieved 94 per cent of the progressive target of Rs 1,960 crore, set for April-June quarter of the ongoing fiscal.
Underscoring the intent on strengthening evacuation infrastructure like setting up rail sidings and corridors, coal handling plants, (CHP), silos and haul roads CIL’s capex has risen to Rs 504 crore on this account, the second highest among all capex heads.
This is a quantum leap of 109 per cent over the first quarter of FY21 when the capex spend on these infra projects was Rs 241 crore.
“Our focus is to have a seamless coal evacuation process in future when production increases.
We are gearing ahead for that. CHP/Silo loading will save us considerable expenses apart from having environment benefits,” the company said.
“Rail sidings and lines are being dovetailed with CHPs and silos,” he added.