Eastern Gases to invest Rs 200 cr for 100 auto LPG stations

MUMBAI: Eastern Gases Ltd, a BSE-listed company, plans to invest Rs 200 crore in the next two years for setting up a 100 auto LPG dispensing outlets in eastern and western India.

The Kolkata-based firm, which imports and supplies bulk LPG, propane and butane to industries, will also set up two LPG manufacturing-cum-bottling plants in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

"We plan to set up a 100 auto LPG dispensing stations by March 2011 at a cost of Rs 200 crore. Construction will begin in three months and the first five will be operational by June next year," company's Chairman and Managing Director S K Bhansali said.

The company has acquired land and obtained necessary licenses for the roll-out, he said.

Of the proposed investment, Rs 40 crore has already been tied up. "We are talking to various banks to fund 70 per cent of the capex," Bhansali said.

"In the next 4-5 years, most petrol-driven vehicles will start converting to eco-friendly LPG and we want to tap that market. We expect an annual 25 per cent growth in demand for LPG each year," Bhansali, a co-promoter of the firm, said.

The company will source the fuel from the import-export terminal of Indian Oil Petronas Pvt Ltd (IPPL) at Haldia in West Bengal.