NEW DELHI, May 13 (UPI) -- India's National Thermal Power Corp. is planning to a buy a majority stake in Indonesian coal mines by the end of the year.

"We had identified one to two mines in Indonesia. We want to buy a majority stake there to have a control over the production and prices," NTPC's Chairman and Managing Director R.S. Sharma said. "We have already appointed three merchant bankers for this, and our endeavor is to finalize the stake purchase by the end of this financial year."

NTPC has a generation capacity of 29,144 MW. It plans to add 22,430 MW by 2012 and take the total capacity to 75,000 MW in 2017 to meet the high power demand. Most NTPC power-generating plants are coal-based. The company said it will need up to 130 million tons in the current fiscal year, up from 122 million tons a year ago.

Sharma said NTPC will double its coal imports to 5 million tons this year from a little more than 2.5 million tons the previous year. The Indonesian mines have proven reserves of about 200 million to 300 million tons each.

NTPC's decision to buy coal mines in Indonesia is an attempt to meet the shortfall in the domestic coal supplies that affects power generation at its stations. NTPC has also been looking at the possibility of buying stakes in coal mines in Mozambique and South Africa, Sharma said.