Eight coal gasification projects to draw ₹65,365 crore investment

The Centre says eight approved coal gasification projects are expected to attract investments of ₹65,365 crore and gasify around 12 million tonnes of coal annually

Eight coal gasification projects approved under the Centre's ₹8,500-crore Scheme for Promotion of Coal and Lignite Gasification Projects are expected to attract investments of about ₹65,365 crore and gasify around 12 million tonnes of coal annually, Minister of State for Coal and Mines Satish Chandra Dubey informed Parliament on Wednesday.

 

The projects will manufacture products ranging from synthetic natural gas (SNG) and ammonium nitrate to direct reduced iron (DRI), hydrogen, ethanol and acetic acid.

 

The data presented by the minister showed that the largest investment is being made by Bharat Coal Gasification and Chemicals Ltd (BCGCL), a joint venture between Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), which is setting up an ammonium nitrate project in Odisha with an investment of ₹25,016 crore.

 

 

The second-largest project is Coal Gas India Ltd (CGIL), a joint venture between CIL and GAIL (India) Ltd, which will produce synthetic natural gas in West Bengal with an investment of ₹13,053 crore. Coal India is also developing an SNG project in Maharashtra involving an investment of ₹12,215 crore, while Jindal Steel Ltd will invest ₹3,882 crore in a project in Odisha to manufacture 2 million tonnes per annum of direct reduced iron.

 

Among the remaining projects, Greta Energy & Metal Pvt Ltd will invest ₹2,763 crore in Maharashtra to produce 0.5 million tonnes per annum of direct reduced iron. New Era Cleantech Solution Pvt Ltd has secured approval for two projects in the state, one involving an investment of ₹6,976 crore to manufacture ammonium nitrate and hydrogen, and another worth ₹667 crore for ethanol production. Kartikay Vayunandana Pvt Ltd will invest ₹793 crore in Maharashtra to produce acetic acid, according to the government's reply in Parliament.

 

Replying to parliamentary questions, Dubey said the government has also made progress on the two major joint venture projects. The BCGCL project at Lakhanpur in Odisha has obtained environmental clearance, awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts and completed the groundbreaking ceremony on June 20, 2026. The project is targeted for commissioning in FY30.

 

Meanwhile, the CGIL project at Bardhaman in West Bengal is at the pre-construction stage after securing the terms of reference for environmental clearance, while tendering for major packages is under way. It is also scheduled to be commissioned in FY30.

 

Besides the ₹8,500-crore scheme, the Centre also approved another ₹37,500-crore scheme for coal gasification in May this year. Under it, the government aims to approve 25 surface coal and lignite gasification projects, which are expected to utilise around 75 million tonnes of coal annually for gasification. The scheme guidelines were issued on June 25 and the request for proposals was floated on July 7.

 

The National Coal Gasification Mission aims to gasify 100 million tonnes of coal by 2030 to reduce import dependence and produce value-added products such as fertilisers, synthetic natural gas and hydrogen.