Ahmedabad-based Jaihind Projects Ltd has won an order worth Rs 207 crore to construct the Morbi-Mundra natural gas pipeline for Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. Speaking to Projectmonitor, Sudip Shah, a senior official of Jaihind Projects said that the work on the order would start in the next two-three months with a scheduled completion period of 13 months thereafter. The 130-km 18" diameter underground pipeline is an important component of the gas grid being constructed by GSPL.
The scope of the order detailed includes engineering, procurement, supply, laying, testing and commissioning of the underground cross-country natural gas pipeline along with associated facilities. This is the first major order for Jaihind Projects relating to gas pipeline projects in Gujarat, he added. Shah said that the order would be executed in partnership with Tehran Jonoob Technical & Construction Company, an Iranian engineering company.
The 130-km pipeline will originate from near the Mundra port and will supply gas to glass and ceramic units located in the Morbi industrial belt. A spokesperson of GSPL also indicated that at a later date, there would be spur lines to Bhuj and another for Iffco's Adipur unit.
GSPL is a subsidiary of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd, and is engaged in constructing a gas grid in network connecting sources and demand points in Gujarat. Currently, over 1,200 km of gas pipelines are already in operation. Major gas sources in Gujarat include the Hazira fields of GSPC and Niko Resources, Panna-Mukta-Tapti fields and the LNG terminals of Shell in Hazira and of Petronet LNG at Dahej.
In an independent development, GSPL might also consider setting up import and regassification facilities for LNG at Mundra. This proposal is currently at a very nascent stage, and the facility, if at all, will come up only by 2011-12.