GAIL (India) Ltd and Government of Bihar have stepped up efforts to roll out city gas distribution projects in Bihar. This was the outcome of the first meeting of the joint coordination group of the Bihar government and GAIL held in Patna recently.
The city gas distribution network would be laid in Patna during phase-I of the Jagdishpur-Phulpur-Haldia project. Priority would be given to the cities of Gaya, Mujaffarpur and Bhagalpur. The CGD network will be taken up in other cities in a phased manner based on demand assessment and techno-economic feasibility in those cities.
In addition to transport and household sector, the pipeline will supply natural gas to several industries in the region like fertiliser, power, steel, and other large, medium and small industries. The city gas distribution network would touch 40 per cent of Bihar’s population.
This new development comes close on the heels of the Energy Highway project for Eastern India, the 2,050-km Jagdishpur-Phulpur-Haldia natural gas pipeline, recently announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Approximately 620 km of this pipeline will pass through Bihar.
GAIL (India) Ltd recently announced that work would soon commence on the natural gas pipeline which will carry efficient and environment-friendly fuel to West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
The estimated investment in the natural gas pipeline project is Rs. 10,000 crore. Phase-I of the pipeline will have a capacity of 16 mmscmd which would be augmented to 32 mmscmd in phase-II. The pipeline will benefit millions of people in the four states and lead to setting up of city gas networks in 17 major cities of the region, namely Varanasi, Allahabad, Patna, Gaya, Chhapra, Siwan, Gopalganj, Mujaffarpur, Bettiah, Bhagalpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Asansol, Durgapur and Kolkata.
