Australian consultancy group Thiess and state owned Singareni Collieries are in race for NTPC's nearly USD 3 billion worth of contracts for developing coal mines in Jharkhand.

A Power Ministry official said that "Thiess and Singareni Collieries have shown interest in the consultancy and development works of the Chhatti Bariatu and Kerandari coal blocks in Jharkhand.”

The official said that "The Chhatti Bariatu contract is for about INR 9,000 crore and the Kerandari is for about INR 4,500 crore.”

Together, the two contracts would be worth INR 13,500 crore (around USD 3 billion).

According to him, the extractable reserves from the coal mines are usually 50%. The geological coal reserves of the Chhatti Bariatu and Kerandari are 194 million tonnes and 285 million tonnes, respectively. The minable reserves in these two sites are 151 million tonnes and 142 million tonnes respectively.

NTPC has seven coal blocks including Pakri Barwadih, Chhatti Bariatu (North and South), Kerandari (Jharkhand), Dulanga (Orissa) and Tallaipalli in Chhattisgarh.

For the other two blocks, CIL NTPC Urja Company Pvt Ltd was formed in April 2010 by NTPC and Coal India Ltd to jointly undertake the development, operation and maintenance of Brahimini and Chichro Patsimal in Orissa.

(Sourced from ET)