Announcement of a Study Aimed at Improving the Transport of Coal in India on February 18, 1963

C WOIILD • INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT' 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON 25, D. C. TELEFHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 February 18, 1963 SUBJECT: coal transport study in India At the request of the Government of India, the world Bank has a.greed to organize and help to finance a study aimei at improving the transport of coal in India. The Bank's financial assistance will cover the foreign exchange costs of the study, estimated at around $750,000. The Government will bear those ex- penses which are to be paid in Indian rupees and make available all the necessary local facilities. (. A solution of India's coal transport problem is urgently needed. Shortage of transport, particu.larly in the states of, west Bengal and Bihar, 'Where most of India's coal is mined and where many of her major ind~tri.~s are located, is a major obstacle to bringing required quantities of coal to j£g~ principal c0n- sumers, such as the steel industry. Difficulties in coal transport in this area are already affecting industrial production and prospects for further industrial growth. Two United States firms of consultants, experienced in the transport and economic planning fields -- Coverdale & Colpitts and Surveys & Research Corpora- tion -- h~ve been retained by the Government to undertake the study. A Steering Committee consisting of Professor Edward Mason of Harva.rd University and Mr. G. L. J3ansal, Secretary General o;fj the FederatiGn of Indian Chamber of Com- merce and Industry, will provide general guidance and supervision of the con:.. • sultants ' work •  - 2 - • The consultants will first submit an interim report, within five months of the commencement of the study, suggesting measures to provide quick relief for the present shortage of coal transport, particularly in the West Bengal-Bihar area. This will include measures to obtain the maximum movement of coal with the facilities already available. Thereafter, the consultants will proceed to the preparation of a final report to the Government and the Bank, recommending measures to equip India with better means for the planning of its fuel economy and for establishing a sotind long-term basis for the transport of coal. They will pay particular attention to alternative means of coal transport, such as inland waterways, ropeways and coastal shipping; the extent to which coal can be replaced by other energy sources; and the possibilities of improvemants in handling coal at the points of origin and destination and in the coal washing program. The Bank has given high priority to assisting India with its coal develop- ment and transport problem. In August 1961 the Bank made a loan of $35 million for the expansion of production of private collier:.:~:.~,,., In the same year, another loan of $19.5 million was made to The Indian Iron and Steel Company, Limited to provide the foreign exchange needed to increase the company's own coal produc- tion, thus securing reliable supplies of high quality coking coal for steel pro- duction. Sizeable portions of other Bank loans to India a.re assisting sectors of the economy which are dependent on coal supplies. Among them are loans total- ing $378 million. for the Railways and other loans totaling $156.7 million for the steel industry. This is the second technical study in India to be financed by the Bank. A Bank-financed study to determine the feasibility of a new crossing on the River • Hooghly in Calcutta is now in progress •.