GAIL to Invest Rs 1.05 lakh Cr. Over Five Years
GAIL India Ltd., India’s largest gas utility announced on 24th February that it would be investing Rs 1.05 lakh Cr over next five years to expand its pipeline network, to lay city gas distribution network and to increase production capacity of petrochemicals.
GAIL’s Investment Breakup & Broad Plan
Manoj Jain, CMD, GAIL India Ltd. mentioned that the plan is for investing capital expenditure of Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 crore in laying pipelines, Rs 10,000 crore in petrochemical capacity expansion and Rs 40,000 crore for city gas distribution (CGD) business.
At present, pipeline network is 12,160 km and the plan is to add 7,000 km of pipeline length over next five years. In next 3-4 years, GAIL is looking to add 400 CNG stations and 10 lakh piped natural gas (PNG) connections of household kitchens.
Push Behind GAIL’s Aggressive Expansion Plan
The investment plan is in line with Indian Government’s vision of increasing share of natural gas in India’s energy basket to 15% by 2030 from the current 6.2%.
India’s gas consumption would need to be increased from the current 160 million standard cubic meters to around 600 million in order to achieve a 15% share of gas in energy mix. GAIL’s efforts at adding gas infrastructure are with the aim to greatly increase gas availability thereby raising consumption.
GAIL (India) Ltd is India’s largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company headquartered in New Delhi. GAIL integrates all aspects of the natural gas value chain and related services.
