ET reported that coastal power projects under construction may have to mandatorly import 30% of their coal requirements if the developments at a standing linkage committee meeting hold sway. Non coastal projects, meanwhile, may be required to source 10% of their requirements from either overseas or sources other than Coal India.
At a meeting, which was held recently, it was suggested that any power project coming up within 150 kilometer of a port may be termed as a coastal power plant for the purpose of earmarking definite import content in their fuel mix.
According to a shipping ministry representative, it was mentioned that the port sector is capable of handling 60 million tonne of coal a year at major ports and this quantity can be enhanced by 2 million tonne a year in the next few years.
Source : Economic Times