NTPC to appoint bankers next month for acquiring mines

The country's largest power producer, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), would appoint merchant bankers next month to undertake the due diligence process for acquiring coal mines in Indonesia and Mozambique.

"We will appoint merchant bankers to do the due diligence for Indonesia and Mozambique coal mines that we identified," NTPC Chairman and MD R S Sharma told reporters here today.

In order to meet the shortfall in coal supply, the company has shortlisted 2-3 coal blocks abroad that would feed its power plants in the near future.

The company's coal requirement stands at 145-150 million tonnes in this fiscal, of which it plans to import 12.5 million tonnes.

NTPC intends to go solo as far as the (coal block) acquisition is concerned. "The coal mines would be acquired by the company and not by consortium International Coal Ventures -- formed by five PSUs for this purpose," he added.

International Coal Ventures was formed by five public sector companies -- Steel Authority of India, NTPC, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, National Mineral Development Corporation and Coal India -- to acquire coal blocks overseas.