Pradhan to launch PNG supply in Bhubaneswar on Oct 20.
18 October, Bhubaneswar
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan will launch the Piped Natural Gas (PNG) supply in the state capital here on October 20 next.
GAIL Director (Projects) Ashutosh Karnatak told newspersons here that in the first phase PNG would be supplied to 255 houses in NALCO nagar here as a pilot project.
Dr Karnataka said on March 18 last while launching the construction activities of the City Gas Distribution (CGD) Project, the Union Minister had said that the PNG supply in NALCO Nagar would commence by March 2018 on a pilot basis. But the GAIL took up the project on a war footing and completed the project six months before the deadline.
He said after NALCO Nagar the GAIL has planned to provide PNG Connection to the adjacent LIC Colony, Maitri Vihar Colony and Railway colony covering a total of 1,000 houses. Assessment is also being carried out for PNG supply to leading hotels, hospitals and industrial units of the city.
The GAIL Director ( Projects) said the Cuttack Development Authority (CDA) has been requested to provide land and once the land is available work for the supply of PNG in sector six and seven in CDA would start and PNG connection would be provided to customers before holi next year.
He said by December 2019 all potential customers would be provided PNG. In Bhubaneswar and Cuttack the number of PNG connections will be gradually ramped up in next three to five years.
In addition to it 25 CNG stations would be commissioned in the twin cities to supply Compressed Natural Gas fuel to vehicles.
A total of 25,000 households in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar cities will be provided Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connection by the end of 2019, Dr.Karnataka said.
“Around 25,000 households in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack would get PNG connection in their kitchens by December 2019 as part of th City Gas Distribution (CGD) project. The number of PNG connections will be gradually ramped up in the next three to five years,” said Karnatak.
“The overall capital expenditure for the Bhubaneswar and Cuttack CGD projects will be Rs 1,700 crore, of which Rs 400 crore will be spent in the next three to five years.”
In Bhubaneswar, construction activities of CNG stations had already commenced in Chandrasekharpur, Patia, Khandagiri and Tamando, and supply would begin at the earliest, said Karnatak.
The CGD projects in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are being taken up parallel to the Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL), popularly known as Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga.
In Odisha, the natural gas pipeline will be constructed at an estimated investment of Rs 4,000 crore and have a length of about 769 km covering 13 districts — Bhadrak, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Debagarh, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Khordha, Puri and Kendrapara.
It will also connect major industrial clusters of Khurdha, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Angul, Dhenkanal, Kalinganagar, Jajpur and Paradip.
Initially, natural gas will reach Bhubaneswar in special containers called “cascades” which will be transported by road from Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh. Later, natural gas will be supplied through the Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL), according to the GAIL Director.
The pipeline is currently under construction and likely to be completed by 2019, he added.
The commencement of supply of natural gas will pass through five states — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.BM