Gail to lay gas pipeline from Dabhol to B146;lore

8220;The project shall be appraised/updated in respect of investment, customers identification, routing of the pipeline and freezing the design parameters before final investment approval by the GAIL Board.8221;

The proposed route is from LNG terminal of Ratnagiri Gas and Power RGPPL at Dabhol up to Bangalore. The pipeline will pass through Ratnagiri and Kolhapur in Maharashtra and Belgaum, Dharwad, Haveri, Davangere, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Bangalore in Karnataka.

With this pipeline, natural gas from RGPPL8217;s LNG Terminal can be supplied to industrial clusters in the state of Maharashtra and Karnataka, GAIL said.

The Dabhol-Bangalore pipeline is among the five new pipelines for which GAIL has already received authorisation in the first quarter of 2007 apart from the three pipelines to be built on exisiting ROUs.

8220;The total length of the new pipelines will be around 5,500 km and the estimated investment on these would be nearly Rs 20,000 crore,8221; GAIL said.

When all these pipelines are commissioned by 2011-12, the total length of GAILs pipelines would be over 12,000 km and the capacity is expected to increase from 148 mmscmd at present to around 300 mmscmd.

These pipelines will enable GAIL to maintain its dominant position in the industry. The integrated gas pipeline network will also enable development of city gas distribution projects in the country by catering to a large number of cities and towns falling in the catchment area of the existing and future pipeline networks and GAIL shall have a distinct advantage and edge over other players, the company said.