PM to inaugurate South Eastern Coalfields projects in Chhattisgarh on Sat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate three first mile connectivity projects of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) in Chhattisgarh on Saturday.

The First Mile Connectivity (FMC) projects are valued at Rs 600 crore. SECL is a subsidiary of Coal India.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to virtually inaugurate three key First Mile Connectivity projects of South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a Coal India Subsidiary under Ministry of Coal, in Chhattisgarh tomorrow," the coal ministry said in a statement.

One project is the Dipka Open Cast Project (OCP) coal handling plant that has been constructed at a cost of over Rs 211 crore. With an annual coal handling capacity of 25 Million Tonne (MT), the project has an overground bunker with a capacity of 20,000 tonne and a 2.1 kilometre-long conveyor belt.

This will facilitate the rapid loading of 4,5008,500 tonne of coal per hour, the statement said.

The second project is the Chhal OCP coal handling plant, built at a cost of more than Rs 173 crore.

With a capacity to handle 6 MT of coal annually, it includes an overground bunker, a conveyor belt spanning 1.7 km, and a silo with a capacity of 3,000 tonne.

Besides, the prime minister will inaugurate the Baroud OCP coal handling plant at that is designed to handle 10 MT of coal annually. The project has been constructed at a cost of Rs 216 crore.

Equipped with an overground bunker with a capacity of 20,000 tonne and a 1.7 km conveyor belt, the project features a rapid loading system capable of loading 5,000-7,500 tonne of coal per hour.

According to the statement, FMC projects aim to reduce dependence on coal transportation through roads, thereby reducing traffic congestion, road accidents, and environmental impact.