PTC eyes Australia, South Africa coal market

New Delhi, May 29 (UNI) PTC India Ltd, the country's leading provider of power trading solutions, today said it is at a final stage to strike a deal in Indonesia, and is also exploring other markets such as Australia and South Africa as the demand for coal in India is increasing over time.

''We are at a final stage for two coal assets in Indonesia.

We are also eyeing some other coal markets like Australia and South Africa, as they have a huge coal deposits to fulfil the increasing demand of the country,'' PTC Chairman and Managing Director Tantra Narayan Thakur told reporters here on the sidelines of a conference.

He said the country has its ambitious plans for power generation in the 11th Five-Year Plan.

On an average, for generating 1,000-MW of power, three million tonnes of coal are required.

''As India has a massive plans to add 5,000-6,000 MW of electricity annually, it needs 30 million tonnes of coal per year for that,'' he added.

He also said the company's Board of Directors has decided to float a joint venture firm with Singapore-based Asian Infratech and will invest one million dollars as its share of investment.

Mr Thakur said the same amount of investment will be made from Asian Infratech, and the rest will be raised through debt.

The subsidiary, which will be a special purpose vehicle, in which each company will hold 50 per cent stake, will bid for coal mines in Indonesia.

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