State-owned Coal India Ltd‘s capital expenditure rose 16.64% year-on-year to ₹3,399 crore in the first quarter of FY27, exceeding its quarterly target as the state-owned miner stepped up spending on land acquisition, mining equipment and coal evacuation infrastructure.
The April-June outlay was higher than ₹2,914 crore in the year-ago period and represented 101.5% of the ₹3,349-crore quarterly target. It accounted for 20.6% of the company’s ₹16,500-crore capex plan for the current fiscal.
More than three-fourths of the expenditure was concentrated in land acquisition, evacuation infrastructure and plant and machinery, which are central to CIL’s production and supply plans.
Land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement emerged as the largest spending head at ₹804 crore, accounting for nearly one-fourth of total capex. CIL has earmarked ₹4,173 crore for land and related activities in FY27, its highest allocation among capital expenditure segments.
The company said timely land acquisition was critical as mining projects could neither commence nor expand without the required land, regardless of the availability of coal reserves.
CIL invested ₹754 crore in railway sidings and rail corridors during the quarter. Another ₹195 crore was spent on coal-handling plants, silos, weighbridges and roads, taking total spending on coal evacuation infrastructure to ₹949 crore.
Capital expenditure on plant and machinery stood at ₹819 crore, covering heavy earth-moving machinery, construction and expansion of washeries and other equipment-related activities. The segment also accounted for nearly one-fourth of quarterly spending.
“Together, these three broad heads accounted for over 75% of the total capex incurred during the first quarter,” CIL Chairman B Sairam said.
“These strategic investments have laid a strong foundation for the company to achieve its production and supply targets for the ongoing fiscal,” he added.
CIL also spent ₹278 crore on solar projects and invested ₹207 crore in joint ventures as it expanded into renewable energy and allied businesses.
The miner had incurred capex of ₹19,607 crore in FY26, surpassing its annual target of ₹16,000 crore.