GAIL said in a statement that it has placed an order for steel pipes, some 280 kilometers long, to provide connectivity for the pipeline from Durgapur to Khaldia, including branch lines to Kolkata in West Bengal.
This completes the contract for the 3400 km Jagdishpur (Uttar Pradesh) - Khaldia (West Bengal) gas pipeline and Bokaro - Dhamra.
The pipeline has already reached Barauni in Bihar and GAIL is ready to supply gas to the refinery and upcoming fertilizer plant. The pipeline also supplies natural gas for the Patna city gas distribution network.
The statement said this is an important milestone in securing green fuel supplies to the eastern part of the country, adding that work on the balance sheet is in full swing and should be completed by December 2021 in stages.
Construction work on the Dobhi-Durgapur section of the pipeline is likely to be completed by December 2019 to supply gas to Matix Fertilizers, Durgapur, West Bengal.
BP is currently laying about 5,500 km of pipeline to ensure gas supplies mainly to the eastern and southern parts of the country. Another 1,400 km pipeline is under assessment and is scheduled to be completed by 2023.
These GAIL pipeline projects will become part of the National Gas Network, providing natural gas to areas still untouched by green fuels. GAIL B C Tripathi, Chairman and Managing Director, said the company is committed to establishing a National Gas Network to provide gas supplies throughout the country. He said that in the near future, GAIL will receive a loan for an upcoming huge capex program for the construction of infrastructure related to natural gas.
He also said that major contracts have been signed for the integrated JHBDPL, which will contribute to the country's economic development and provide job opportunities in the pipeline project and urban gas distribution networks in the country.
