BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) has sought administrative approval for acquisition of 476.51 acres of private land and 302 acres of Government land for first phase work of the common infrastructure corridor in Talcher Coalfields Limited.
Idco, the nodal agency, has already incorporated Brahmani Railways Limited, a special purpose vehicle, for implementation of the common corridor project under the Non Government Railway (NGR) model.
The common rail corridor project for Talcher-Angul- Chhendipada coal bearing region aims to cater to the rail transport demand of the coal block region. It entails an investment of Rs 8,000 crore in the first project.The common corridor planned in the coal rich Talcher Coalfields is meant for smooth evacuation of coal.
RITES Ltd, an engineering consultancy company of the Indian Railways and technical consultant of Idco, has furnished the corridor alignment for 11 revenue villages for extension of the main corridor upto Mandakini loading point.
The Rs 1,240-crore project which will be implemented by Idco will require 6,200 acres of land. The corridor was proposed to cater to the transport requirement of 32 coal blocks allocated to State industries besides saving substantial amount as transportation expenditure.
Official sources said the corridor will handle coal traffic in excess of 100 million tonnes a year. The corridor will be connected with the rail heads at Jharpada, Angul and Budhapanka.
As many as 55 industries, including steel plants and power projects, would be benefited by the project.
The common corridor will traverse 143 km, supporting 10 blocks operating in the Talcher coalfields under the command area of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL).
The State PSU has also sought Government approval for acquisition of 26.94 acres of land for construction of the main corri-dor in Talcher coalfields. Meanwhile, the State Government has given approval for acquisition of 953.27 acres and 1479.65 of land to Idco in Chhendipada tehsil for the common corridor project.