GAIL to set up 25 CNG stations in Bangalore

Bangalore, July 22, 2013: Public sector enterprise Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) in association with the state government of Karnataka is to set up Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling stations across Bangalore to support buses run by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

A meeting held on July 20 to review auto gas and oil projects in Karnataka was attended by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas M Veerappa Moily and Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. According to Siddaramaiah, initially 25 CNG stations will be set up in BMTC depots and gradually increased to 65 facilities.

The plan, which will help reduce pollution levels in Bangalore and also promote a green transport system in the state, will also reduce BMTC’s operational costs.

To begin with, the chief minister said, the government will purchase 300 new CNG buses fitted under the JNNURM scheme. The CNG will be supplied through the 1,000km-long pipe line laid by GAIL between Dabhol in Maharastra and Bangalore at an investment of Rs 4,500 crore. It has a capacity of 16 million metric standard cubic metres per day of natural gas. The gas supply has already commenced in February 2013 for industrial usage in Karnataka and companies like Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts have been using the gas for its 6.5 MW captive power plant.

JAISHANKAR JAYARAMIAH