GAIL (India) Limited has kicked off pipeline construction work in West Bengal to provide gas supply to Matix Fertilizers, Durgapur.

The project is being executed as a part of Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga pipeline project i.e. Jagdishpur-Haldia & Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project.

A 555-km-long pipeline with an approved cost of around Rs 2,700 crore in WB will pass through eight districts namely Puruliya, Bankura, Burdwan, Nadia, Hooghly, Howrah, East Medinapur and 24 North Paragana. Further project activities for execution of pipeline in WB upto Haldia and city gas distribution in Kolkata are also expected to commence shortly.

The prestigious 2,655 km long JHBDPL project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July, 2015. It is progressing in full swing. The pipeline will pass through UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, WB and Odisha.

The project is being executed in a phased manner. Phase one consists of pipeline network from Phulpur–Dobhi with spurlines to Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Patna and Barauni (755 Km) and is scheduled to be completed by end of the year. Phase II of the project beyond Dobhi (Gaya) towards Durgapur Haldia & Bokaro – Ranchi and Angul – Dhamra (1900 Km) is scheduled to be completed progressively by December, 2020.

The project will usher industrial development in eastern India by supplying environmentally clean natural gas to fertilizer & power plant, refineries, steel plants and other industries. Further, the arrival of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga will provide direct and indirect employment to thousands of people.

The city gas network laying activity in Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi and Cuttack has already commenced and activities in other cities namely Patna and Jamshedpur will start by next month.

The pilot project in Bhubaneshwar for providing PNG & CNG was inaugurated in October, 2017 and December, 2017 respectively.