Reliance to invest Rs8,000 crore in Bengal gas pipeline

17 April 2007

Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd plans to invest over Rs8,000 crore to lay a gas pipeline from its KG Basin gas fields on the east coast to West Bengal. The project will be completed by 2009-10.

The investment plans would be finalised after discussions with West Bengal government on the pipeline capacity and the state''s requirements, RIL president (LNG business) R P Sharma said.

The gas pipeline would be built as a common carrier basis and would cover Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Hoogly, Howrah, Midnapur and Burdwan, which were on the priority list of Reliance. The state government has issued notfication for use of the pipeline, he said.

"The timeframe for informing intention to use the pipeline by any party is one month. After that we will freeze the capacity of the pipeline," Sharma said.

The company would seek details from the government about its projected demand of natural gas in the state before deciding on the capacity of the pipeline, he said.

"It will cost around Rs8,000 crore for connecting the 1,100 km pipeline between KG basin and the state," he said, adding, "The additional investment to connect each of these districts would cost between Rs500 crore to Rs1,000 crore."