Power-Packed

New Delhi, July 31: The shipping ministry has given its assent to the proposal of handing over 180 acres of land at Haldia to Tata Steel and the West Bengal Industries Development Corporation for their proposed power plant and coke unit projects.

Shipping Secretary D.T. Joseph told the Telegraph that the land would be given on a 99-year lease to the consortium for Rs 56.17 crore and the Calcutta Port Trust would be apprised of the ministry’s approval to the land allotment in a day or two.

The 180-acre plot is where Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation’s plant was located. The unit has now turned sick and the new project proposal will help put the land into more productive use.

The Tata Steel-WBIDC consortium has guaranteed a minimum throughput of 1 million tonnes of coal every year, ensuring the Calcutta port trust a regular revenue of around Rs 8 crore.

The proposal for setting up the power plant and the coke unit had to be sent to the ministry as required by the Major Port Trusts Act. Though the Calcutta Port Trust has the authority of leasing out land but for a maximum of 30 years.

The consortium will form a new company, Hooghly Metcoke & Power, which will be a subsidiary of Tata Steel with WBDIC holding a minority stake. The new company will import coal and convert it into high grade coke for steel furnaces. Initial capacity of the coke plant will be 8 lakh tonnes a year, which will be later increased to 1.6 million tonnes.

Tata Steel sources said that the coke will be either bought by the company itself for its new furnaces planned for Jamshedpur steel plant, but the option of selling some of the high grade coal to other steel makers is also there.

The by-products generated in the form of gases during the coke production process will be used is generating electricity.

The power will then be fed to the West Bengal State Electricity Board grids. The project aims to generate 120 mega-watt power annually when completed.