Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), the sole supplier of compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG) in Delhi, plans to invest Rs 1,600 crore to expand its retail outlets and PNG network in and around the metropolis.
“We have embarked on a plan to expand our retail outlets to 240 before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games in October 2010. We have been allotted land for 18 outlets and more are in the process of being allotted. The expansion would require an investment of around Rs 800 crore,” said Rajesh Vedvyas, the managing director.
Another Rs 800 cr would go towards expansion of the PNG network in Delhi and the national capital regions (NCR) of Noida and Greater Noida. The PNG network currently covers 140,000 households in Delhi and the NCR. The company plans to add 50,000 new PNG connections in the current financial year.
IGL has already signed up for a gas requirement of 0.2 million metric standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) with GAIL and BPCL. The company is also scheduled to get around 0.3 mmscmd of gas from Reliance Industries’ K-G basin.
“We expect to more than double the PNG connections to 300,000 by 2012, with an investment of Rs 800 cr. Currently, PNG connections account for around 8 per cent of revenues. This is expected to go up,” he added. There has been a significant increase in CNG demand due to all-round conversion of vehicles and increased acceptability of PNG as a domestic fuel.
