The commissioning of the cross-country natural gas pipeline of Gujarat State Petronet Limited (GSPL) from Mehsana to Bhatinda has been delayed by three to four months due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 1,670 km long pipeline linking Mehsana in Gujarat to Bhatinda in Punjab was earlier scheduled to be commissioned in June 2021. The pipeline is now expected to become operational by September or October 2021. Currently, more than 93 per cent of the project has been completed.
A consortium led by GSPL has formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV), GSPL India Gasnet Limited to implement the project. GSPL has a 52 per cent stake in the SPV with Indian Oil Corporation Limited holding 26 per cent. Meanwhile, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited have an 11 per cent stake each.
The natural gas trunk pipeline project, which passes through Jaipur in Rajasthan is expected to entail an investment of Rs 55 billion. Contracts for laying the pipeline infrastructure have been awarded to companies such as Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited and Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited.