GAIL India will make an investment of more than Rs 45,000 crore over the next five years to expand the National Gas Grid and city gas distribution network. The company currently is augmenting the natural gas pipeline network by executing more than 5,700 km of major projects. Presently GAIL India operates 11,000 km of pipeline network and markets two-thirds of all-natural gas sold in the country.
The investment worth Rs 45,000 crore is envisaged in coming few years, across major cross country pipeline projects along Urja Ganga Project, Koch-Kootanad-Bengaluru-Mangaluru, Indradhanush North East Gas Grid and other crucial pipelines connecting supply and demand centres envisaged under the National Gas Grid.
Of this, Rs 32,000 crore will go into pipeline laying and another Rs 12,000 crore in city gas distribution (CGD) networks for retailing of CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to household kitchens.
GAIL India is looking to put up 400 CNG stations and give out a record 10 lakh piped natural gas (PNG) connections to household kitchens in the next three to five years. The company is building a 2,655 km gas pipeline from Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal and Odisha. Around 1,050 km of pipeline projects along Varanasi-Dobhi-Patna/Barauni, Auraiya-Phulpur, and other last-mile connectivity were completed during FY19.
Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project, also known as the 'Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga' project, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 2015. The pipeline will be extended to Guwahati by laying an additional 750 km line. At Guwahati, it will interconnect with the upcoming 1,500 km 'Indradhanush' pipeline network conceived to operate in the northeast by the public sector oil and gas majors.
The company’s board has approved the utilization of existing assets and premises of LPG plant at Usar in Maharashtra by converting it into 5, 00,000 tonnes of polypropylene complex at an investment of around Rs 8,800 crore.
GAIL India’s board has also approved setting up of 60,000-tonne polypropylene unit at the existing petrochemical facility at Pata in Uttar Pradesh.
