Dentons Link Legal, acted as the Transaction Counsels to the Ministry of Coal, Government of India (MoC) and SBI Capital Markets Limited (Transaction Advisors), in bidding out of 7 coal/ lignite gasification projects under 3 identified categories, in line with the GOI’s Coal Gasification Financial Incentive Scheme launched on January 24, 2024, with an aggregate outlay of Rs. 85 billion (~USD 1000 million).
The Coal/lignite gasification projects besides being the ‘first-of-its-kind’ in India, also marks a significant step towards India’s coal gasification target of reaching 100 MT of coal gasification by 2030. The GOI’s Scheme aims to accelerate technological advancements in coal gasification, reduce carbon emissions, bolster energy security, and promote sustainable development, with the implementation of these Projects.
The MoC executed the Coal Gasification Plant Development and Production Agreements with the selected bidders across 3 identified categories, which included:
Category 1:
• Coal India Limited (CIL)
• Bharat Coal Gasification and Chemicals Limited (JV of CIL-BHEL)
• Coal Gas India Limited (CGIL)
Category II:
• Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL)
• Greta Energy Metal Private Limited
• New Era Cleantech Solution Pvt Ltd
Category III:
• New Era Cleantech Solution Pvt Ltd.
The Firm assisted in the entire Transaction process right from the structuring stage, bidding and till the execution of the transactional documents, and it involved various rounds of negotiations with the MoC, the applicants and the identified successful bidders. The Transaction reiterates and highlights the Firm’s acclaimed experience and expertise in the Infrastructure sector. The deal team was led by Milind Jha (Partner) and comprised of Aditya Bhardwaj (Partner), Sakshi Arora (Principal Associate) and Kartikeya Tyagi (Associate).