Nava Bharat arm concludes Zambian deal

Nava Bharat (Singapore) Pte Limited (NBS), a subsidiary of power, ferro alloys, sugar and coal mining company Nava Bharat Ventures Limited, has concluded the purchase of 65 per cent equity stake in Zambia-based Maamba Collieries Limited (MCL) from ZCCM-Investment Holdings Plc (ZCCM-IH).

This followed the share sale and purchase agreement that NBS had entered into with the Zambian government and ZCCM-IH in December 2009. A new management team has been inducted by NBS to oversee the operations of MCL.

MCL has coal mining rights over an area of 79 square kilometre at Maamba in the Sinazongwe district of the southern province of Zambia with mineable reserves of 65 million tonne of high-grade coal and an equivalent reserve of thermal-grade coal. While revival of the coal mining and trading of high-grade washed coal is the near-term plan, the long-term viability plan of MCL envisages establishment of a mine-mouth coal-fired power plant of 300 Mw.

MCL, under the management of NBS, will soon enter into a bankable power purchase agreement with Zesco, the local power utility of Zambia, and would achieve financial closure and establishment of coal-fired power plant of 300-Mw by the end of the current financial year. Power generation from this plant is envisaged to commence in 2013-14 to meet the growing power needs of Zambia, Nava Bharat Ventures said in a filing to the BSE on Friday.