BND Gas (P) Ltd, a subsidiary of the Spice Energy group, has signed an agreement with the Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC) today, for construction of auto LPG stations at three bus depots in Kolkata.
The agreement marked the allocation of three bus depots by CSTC to BND Gas for construction of auto LPG stations to be retailed to the transport sector and general public under the brand name, SpiceGas.
The three sites—Taratola, Maniktola and Nilgunj depots—were expected to be assigned by CSTC to BND Gas shortly. The agreement is valid for the next 20 years.
Kingshuk Ghoshal, vice president, marketing & advisory services, Spice Gas, said, agreement with six private depots in Kolkata and 14 in Bengal had been signed.
Raman Chauhan, chief executive officer (CEO) of BND Gas said, “We are enthused by this initiative undertaken by the CSTC to promote usage of auto LPG which is a green and clean fuel for public consumption.” The cost of conversion for autos to LPG was Rs 5,000-7,000.
At present, there are 1,100 LPG stations across the country, of which 300 are government-owned. BND Gas has six operational LPG stations, while 22 were in the licensing stage.
BND Gas is recognized by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), government of India, as an approved auto LPG operator. BND has built 72 LPG stations across India till now. Of these about 39 are for private players and 33 stations for PSU oil companies. The target is to put 200 LPG stations in the ensuing fiscal year.
The agreement with CSTC assumes significance in the wake of the West Bengal government’s decision to implement the Calcutta High Court order for banning 15-year old vehicles.
Moreover, BND Gas has the technology to convert diesel to LPG, which could make the condemned buses non-polluting.
Currently the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) norms do not allow conversion of diesel to LPG. The cost of conversion in buses would be around Rs 1.4 lakh.
Spice Gas has filed an application with the Automobile Research Association of India (ARAI), the recommending board for CMV, for the technology.
Five buses of the city school were being fitted with the kit as a test case and the kit would be sent to ARAI for testing. Typically the window of approval for ARAI was three months.
