By IANS,
New Delhi : State-run gas transmission and marketing company GAIL India has approved pipeline projects worth more than Rs.8,000 crore (Rs.80 billion/$1.6 billion) to transport hydrocarbons, including an over-2,000 km line from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal.
U.D. Choubey, the outgoing chairman of GAIL, formerly Gas Authority of India, told reporters Monday that the company’s board has approved the outlay to enhance the current pipeline network of 7,100 km to ferry 155 million metric standard cubic metres of gas per day.
The major part of the investment will be for the 2,050-km pipeline running from Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, to be executed at a cost of around Rs.7,600 crore.
It will be the single largest investment by GAIL in a pipeline project, Choubey said.
The entire project – slated to be completed by December 2013 – will cater to large and small gas consumers in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Two smaller projects for northern India were also approved.
The first involves laying down a 275-km pipeline from Karanpur to Rudrapur at Rs.2,500 crore, while the second involves upgrading the existing Bajera-Ferozabad pipeline at an investment of Rs.2,000 crore.
GAIL has a network of 7,100 km of gas pipelines that carry 155 million metric standard cubic metres of natural gas per day through the country.
It now has drawn up plans to invest nearly Rs.28,000 crore to build another 5,000 km of pipelines that will double its carrying capacity.
Meanwhile, GAIL has reported a decline in its net profit by 26.8 percent for the first quarter ending June 30, compared to the year-ago period.
Net sales, however, rose to Rs.6,021 crore during the quarter compared to Rs.5,730 crore the corresponding period the previous fiscal.