TNEB to import 35 million tonnes of coal

Chennai:

Tamil Nadu Electricity Board will be importing 35 million tonnes of coal through Ennore Port during the next five years, according to Ennore Port officials.

Addressing a Press Conference here on Wedenesday, Ennore Port Limited chairman M A Bhaskarachar and Ennore Port general manager R Senthil Kumar said that two coal berths of Ennore Port are currently handling 12 million tonnes of imported coal for TNEB.

Bhaskarachar said that TNEB has asked Ennore Port to increase its coal handling to 34 million tonnes in the next five years. Interestingly, this means TNEB demand for coal would triple in the next five years.

The additional coal would be required to feed the North Chennai Thermal Power Project, Mettur Thermal Power Station and Vallur plant.

Interestingly, the capacity of the current mechanized coal berth would be increased by another four million tonnes by the year-end taking the total coal capacity to 16 million tonnes.

“We will also be adding another coal berth in the next couple of years. This will add another nine million tonnes. And after that in the next two years another coal berth would also be built taking the over all coal capacity of the port to 34 MTS,” Kumar said.

Meanwhile, Ennore Port has surpassed the target of 16 million tonnes of cargo fixed by the Union government in financial year 2012-13. The target was achieved one month prior to the close of the financial year. The cargo throughput at EPL is expected to reach an all time record of 17 million tonnes by the end of the financial year.