India’s Dilip Buildcon (DBL) has received a letter of acceptance (LOA) from Coal India-owned Mahanadi Coalfields Ld (MCL) for a Mine Developer cum Operator (MDO) contract for the development and operation of the huge Siarmal open cast project in the state of Odisha. The contract value is INR36,419.07 crore and the contract period is 25 years. The mine reserve is 1.091 billion tonnes. The operation will be standard load and haul for overburden with use of surface miners for coal extraction.

DBL already has an MDO contract signed in 2018 with Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) for development and operation of the Pachhwara Central coal mine. The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is the power generation and distribution company in the state of Punjab and is fully owned by the Government of Punjab. PSPCL owns three thermal power plants in the state of Punjab – Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (Bathinda), Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant (Ropar) and Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant (Lehra Mohabbat) with installed capacities of 460 MW, 1260 MW and 920 MW respectively. The Pachhwara Coal Block is located in the Pakur District of Jhakhand state having a balance reserve of 382 Mt to be excavated for 55 years at a peak rated capacity of 7 Mt/y.