CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) is likely to float a tender to develop the Chandrabila coal block in Odisha by the end of this month. According to sources, the Central government had allocated the Chandrabila coal block at Angul district in Odisha to TANGEDCO in 2016. As per schedule, the State-owned power company should have completed development of coal mines in Angul before 2021. However, due to lack of clearance for exploration in the forest area by the Union Environment Ministry, they could not move forward.
And now, TANGEDCO has chalked out plans to develop parts of the Chandrabila block located in non-forested areas. Tenders would be floated for this project soon. An TANGEDCO official pointed out that the Chandrabila coal block is spread across 9.32 square kilometers (sq km) with a total geographical reserve of 896.16 million tonnes. Tamil Nadu has been allowed to mine 10 million tonnes per annum for 35 years, including a development period of 60 months. The non-forest area spread is 5 sq km (out of 9.32 sq km).
Besides, even though tenders were floated twice in the past, no bidder took up the project as the cost was extremely low. Another senior official told TNIE: “In the past, because of the low quoted project cost, bidders did not want to participate in the tender. This time around, no cost will be quoted. Bidders may quote their costs and submit them.
The suitable tenders will be selected after examination. The announcement for online tender will be given after getting approvals from the government,” the official added. TANGEDCO will utilise the coal mined from this block exclusively for its end-use power projects such as the 800 MW North Chennai Thermal Power Station Stage-3 and 1,320 MW Ennore SEZ Power Station.
