CGD Network Inaugurated in Major East Indian City
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi June 14 officially inaugurated the city gas distribution (CGD) network in the eastern Indian city of Varanasi, which is the constituency that he represents in Lok Sabha, the lower house of the parliament. Varanasi is one of the biggest cities in east India and is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The foundation stone of the Varanasi CGD project had been laid by Modi in October 2016. The network will supply natural gas to households, transport sector and industries in the city through the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga scheme, Gail, which is implementing the CGD project, said July 14.
The Varanasi CGD network will cover an area of 1,535 km2 and cater to a population of 3.7mn. Two CNG stations have started commercial operations while another 18 will be set up in the coming years, Gail said, adding that overall 20,000 vehicles are expected to use CNG in the city.
Piped natural gas (PNG) connection work for 8,000 households has been completed and gas is expected to start flowing into their kitchens by March 2019. About 100,000 households are likely to be covered in the project, Gail said. The CGD network will also cover four industrial areas and can cater to 150 industries and 500 commercial enterprises.
Gail has finished laying 28 km of steel pipeline and 102 km of medium density polyethylene (MDPE) pipeline. About 800 km of steel and MDPE pipeline will be laid in the city as part of the project.
The Varanasi CGD project was developed simultaneously with the Jagdishpur – Haldia & Bokaro – Dhamra/ Barauni- Guwahati Pipeline project. The pipeline project of total length 3,291 km will cater to the energy requirements of eastern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Assam covering 70 districts and 3,150 villages. Besides Varanasi, CGD networks are also being developed by Gail at eastern Indian cities Patna, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
India is aggressively expanding its CGD network and recently concluded the ninth CGD bidding round. The latest round has got very strong response from the industry. Indian downstream regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) said it has received more than 400 bids during the round.