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Krishnapatnam Port said the huge lift was achieved over 24 hours using conventional cranes and it was, in fact, by far the highest amount of coal lifted from a vessel in any part of the world.
The port, situated on the southeastern coast of India, announced the feat yesterday, just weeks after much of the country was plunged into darkness because of worryingly short supplies of electricity.
Meanwhile, CIL has signed a pact with the Limpopo province of South Africa in a bid to jointly identify, explore and develop coal mines there.
The public sector firm has invited bids for appointing consultants to assist in forming a wholly owned subsidiary in Africa.
In a statement issued by CIL this week, a spokesperson told the Press Trust of India: “Coal India intends to select South Africa-based consultants to assist its venture of formation of a wholly owned subsidiary company.”
South African officials in the northern province of Limpopo last year approached CIL for discussions on a possible joint venture.
India’s Public Sector Undertakings has set aside 6000 crore rupees ($US1.1 billion) for the acquisition of mines overseas.
CIL, which accounts for more than 80% of domestic coal production, missed its revised 2011-12 production target and reached just 435.84 million tons, instead of the targeted 447Mt.
As CIL prepares to sign fuel supply agreements which promise to deliver a minimum of 80% of the power requirements of Indian consumers, it said it wanted to improve coal availability both by increasing domestic production and also through overseas sources.
A company statement from the Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal said the container’s business arm was gearing up to handle new scheduled calls.
Last month, the terminal added four Keppel FELS gantry cranes and new mini-bagging machines, installed new hopper and conveyor systems in warehouses and built new sidings to handle bulk cargo at the port.
The Krishnapatnam port, developed and operated by the Navayuga Group, is undergoing a Rs4000 crore phase 2 development program.
