GAIL places Rs 677 cr orders for laying gas pipeline

NEW DELHI: State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd today placed orders worth Rs 677 crore for laying a gas pipeline from Dabhol in Maharashtra to Bangalore.

GAIL Chairman and Managing Director B C Tripathi said: "The placement of construction contract marks a significant step towards execution of the pipeline project and is a testimony of GAIL's commitment to bring gas supplies to Karnataka by 2012."

With this, within the last 3 months GAIL has placed orders worth about Rs 2,000 crore for both line pipes and pipeline laying to enable swift project implementation, a company press statement said here.

"The construction work will start by November 2010 and the pipeline will be ready by March 2012," it said, adding the commissioning activities would take a couple of months more and the gas supplies are expected to begin by June 2012.

The 1400-km Dabhol-Bangalore pipeline project was approved by GAIL Board in June 2009 at an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore. The pipeline will have a capacity to carry 16 million standard cubic meters per day of natural gas.

"The project activities for this pipeline are in full swing," it said.

The pipeline from Dabhol (Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra) to Bidadi (Ramnagar district, Karnataka) and two additional spur lines (from Gokak in Belgaum district, Karnataka to Goa and from Sulivara in South Bangalore district, Karnataka to Bangalore) have been divided into 10 spreads.

Of the 10 spreads, 7 spreads have been awarded to Punj Lloyd Ltd, two spreads have been awarded to KSS-KSSIIPL consortium and one spread has been awarded to Advance Stimul Consortium, the GAIL statement said.