IOC plans to spend Rs 2k cr on retail infrastructure

KOLKATA: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has earmarked an investment of Rs 2,000 crore by March 2007 to improve its retail marketing infrastructure across the country.

The investment would involve the creation of 1,000 fully automated retail outlets (ROs), 200 auto LPG stations and conversion of petrol pumps into branded retail outlets. The oil marketing major has also set a target of creating 2,000 automated ROs by March 2008.

“We have firmed up our strategy to convert 1,000 ROs into fully automated ones by March 2007 from 80 such ROs at present. In the next fiscal, 2007-08, we hope to create another 1,000 fully automated ROs across the country,” GC Daga, director (marketing), IOC, said.

“We want to offer our customers the best value proposition through accurate billing and have plans to automate all ROs which register sales of more than 200 kilo litres per month,” Mr Daga added.IOC will spend close to Rs 160 crore on these automated outlets in 2006-07. Another Rs 57 crore will be spent on adding some 114 new auto LPG stations to take the total number of such ROs to 200.

To boost its retail infrastructure in West Bengal, IOC has decided to spend Rs 120 crore in the current year, with some Rs 40 crore being spent on adding 20 new ROs and 40 Kisan Seva Kendras in rural areas. Another Rs 11 crore is being spent on a new LPG bottling plant at Haldia.

IOC has earmarked a spend of Rs 3,000 crore in the state by 2009. The bulk of the investment, currently under way, is being made on expanding the capacity of IOC’s existing refinery at Haldia from six million tonne to 7.5 million tonne, adding a hydrocracker unit to produce value-added products like Euro IV motor spirit and in setting up a pipeline to transport crude from Paradip to Haldia refinery.