As much as ₹80,000 crore. Possibility of investment for gas infrastructure in 61 areas including Nagpur, Madurai
Oil regulator PNGRB said an investment of Rs 80,000 crore is envisaged in setting up city gas infrastructure in 61 Geographical Areas (GAs) including Jammu, Nagpur, Pathankot and Madurai, which were bid in the latest licensing round.
In a statement, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) said the bids for 65 GAs that were floated in the 11th City Gas Licensing Round were received on December 15.
65 GAs are spread over 215 districts in 19 states and one union territory, covering 26% of India’s population and 33% of its area.
“This round received an overwhelming response from investors with over 430 bids as against 61 GAs,” PNGRB said. “Technical bids will be opened between December 17 and 22,” it said.
“This initiative will help in creating a strong CGD infrastructure and will play a vital role in transforming to a gas based economy. This will lead to an investment of over Rs 80,000 crore and generate employment.” Presently, there are 228 Geographical Areas authorized by PNGRB in 27 States and Union Territories covering approximately 53% of its geographical area and 70% of its population.
Last City Gas Distribution (CGD) Bidding Round – In the 10th CGD Bidding Round, 50 GAs were authorized for development of CGD network.
At present, 215 districts are being included in 65 GAs. According to PNGRB, bids were received for 61 GAs.
During 2018 and 2019, PNGRB licensed retail CNG to automobiles and piped LPG for domestic kitchens at 136 GA. This expanded the city’s gas network to 406 districts and nearly 70% of the country’s population.
push for the use of natural gas
The emphasis on expanding city gas is part of the government’s plan to increase the share of natural gas in the country’s energy basket to 15% by 2030 from the current 6.3%.
The 65 GAs to be bid in the 11th CGD Bidding Round include Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua districts in Jammu and Kashmir.
The bidding is being offered in Nagpur in Maharashtra, Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Bikaner and Churu districts of Rajasthan. Nizamabad in Telangana, Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, East Medinipur in West Bengal and Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand are also on the list.
Kurnool, Guntur and Prakasam districts in Andhra Pradesh, Kokrajhar and Dhubri districts of Assam, Chikkaballapur in Karnataka, Idukki and Kottayam in Kerala, Jalgaon and Amaravati in Maharashtra, Koraput in Odisha, Pathankot and Tarn Taran in Punjab and Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. Bidding is being offered.
,