Guwahati: The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board on Thursday said the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) will extend the Urja Ganga natural gas pipeline to Guwahati to connect the Northeast with the grid.
Board member S. Rath, who was here in connection with the ninth city gas distribution bidding round, said the city will get piped gas by 2021.
The pipeline connecting Hadia, Dhamra, Paradip and Barauni will be extended to Guwahati. The 721-km pipeline project will cost Rs 3,000 crore.
He said the pipeline would be extended to other locations in the Northeast and should be operational by 2023. The 1,500-km pipeline from Guwahati to other locations is being built by a consortium of companies involving Oil India Limited, Numaligarh Refinery Limited and others.
The gas distribution bidding has on offer 86 geographical areas covering 176 districts spread over 22 states and Union Territories. It will cover 29 per cent of the country's population and 24 per cent of its geographical area. After the award of the geographical areas, gas distribution would reach 286 districts spread over 25 states covering 60 crore people.
Five Assam districts, Hailakandi, Karimganj, Kamrup and Kamrup (metro), as well as two districts of Tripura, Gomati and West Tripura, have been included in the bidding round.
"An establishment of a gas grid in the Northeast, connecting all states, will provide impetus to economic growth and would lead to employment generation," an official said.
Board chairman Dinesh K. Saraf urged all to leverage the opportunities available in the gas distribution business enabling the Centre to achieve its target to connect one crore households by piped natural gas by 2020.
Education minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya, who also hold charge of the Guwahati development department, said the state government would provide full security cover to companies working on the project. "The security scenario in Assam and other states of the region has improved and there is no reason to fear for companies to operate here," he said.
