Leighton's $5.5 Billion Indian Coal Mine Contract Canceled.

Leighton Holdings Ltd. (LEI) lost a contract to build the first coal mine for India's biggest power producer NTPC Ltd. (NTPC), amid protests from local villagers that halted the opening of the Pakri Barwadih site.

State-controlled NTPC on May 8 terminated a contract with Leighton's Thiess Minecs venture to develop and operate the mine, the Sydney-based builder said in a statement recently. Thiess Minecs' Chief Executive Raman Srikanth was arrested the following day in relation to a dispute with Roshni Developers Pvt., the company said in a separate statement.

India's biggest power producer is seeking to develop its own mines and increase imports as the country's coal production trails booming electricity demand. Violent protests at Pakri Barwadih in the eastern state of Jharkhand, amid illegal mining by villagers demanding more compensation for their land, have delayed the mine's opening.

Bloomberg