Coal India subsidiary — South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) — has received a credit support of Rs 3,976 crore from a consortium of banks, led by State Bank of India, to facilitate evacuation of coal by rail.
A loan agreement has been signed between Chhattisgarh East West Rail Ltd (CEWRL) — a joint venture SECL and banks — to provide credit to develop a 135km of double line from Gevra Road to Pendra Road in Chhattisgarh to evacuate coal from the mines at Gevra, Dipka and Kusuminda.
The project has a debt to equity ratio of 80:20 wherein the promoters are required to contribute about Rs 994 crore and the balance amount of Rs 3,976 crore is arranged from banks as rupee term loan.
Land acquisition and forest clearance have already been obtained for the main line of the project, which is now expected to be completed by March 2023.
When completed, it will help SECL evacuate about 65mt coal every year from its mines.
SECL has a 64 per cent holding in CEWRL, while Ircon, a rail ministry undertaking, holds a 26 per cent stake.
The rest 10 per cent of the stake is held by the State Industrial Development Corporation, government of Chhattisgarh.
State Bank of India is the lead bank with a Rs 1,800-crore exposure to this infrastructure project. Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank and Bank of Baroda are the other lenders in the consortium.
