Australia's Leighton Holdings bags $5.5 bn contract from NTPC

Australia's leading mining contractor Leighton Holdings today said it has won a 22-year contract from India's NTPC for $5.5 billion.

Leighton Holdings' wholly owned subsidiary Thiess has bagged the contract-- one of the largest ever awarded by NTPC -- for developing and operating the greenfield Pakri Barwadih coal mine, Leighton said in a regulatory filing to the Australian Stock Exchange.

Production at the said mine is expected to be ramped up to 15 million tonnes per annum over the first three years of mining and more than 300 million tonnes of coal will be mined during the contract, the filing added.

Commenting on the development, Thiess mining Chief Executive Bruce Munro said, "India has the fourth-largest coal reserves in the world and is the third largest producer. We believe this project will lead to more opportunities for Thiess in India, particularly given the strong economic growth currently occurring."

The company said project would be executed through Thiess' 90 per cent owned Indian joint venture company -- Thiess Minecs, of which 10 per cent is held by Kolkata-based Minecs Finvest Pvt Ltd.

Pakri Barwahih would be the first of the six mines that NTPC Ltd intends to develop to provide low-cost coal for its power stations, replacing expensive imported coal.

Besides, the work at greenfield site would also include development of all the new facilities and equipment supplied by Theiss. This will also require an entirely new labour force, providing a significant economic boost to the regional economy, the company said.