GAIL steel pipe tenders worth Rs 1,000 cr in process under going-local plan

Pradhan reviews Rs 8,000 cr worth projects to align with PM Modi's Aatmanirbhar Bharat plan

In an effort to boost Make in India initiatives and further the goal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, state-run GAIL India is processing line pipe tenders of more than Rs 1,000 crore for around 100,000 tonne steel procurement by September 2020. This would translate to progressive supply of 800 kilometre of line pipe from domestic bidders. 

This quantity is expected to be doubled by the end of current financial year to move towards a self-reliant India. Union minister for petroleum and steel Dharmendra Pradhan took a review meeting of Rs 8,000 crore worth of projects on Thursday to align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Aatmanirbhar Bharat plan. 

Project work along the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga, JHBDPL pipeline, has resumed in full swing post lockdown and is set to connect Eastern India with the West to Central natural gas pipeline corridor for boosting gas-based economy in the country, said an official statement. 

Indian Oil is implementing a 1,450-km-long natural gas pipeline project in southern India, with a project cost of Rs 6,025 crore. It has approximate 165,000 tonne of steel pipes manufacturing potential in India at a cost of Rs 2,060 crore.

The Indradhanush Gas Grid, natural gas pipeline grid being developed in the north-east, will ensure uninterrupted supply of natural gas to all the eight north-eastern states, accelerate their economic growth and help usher a gas-based economy in India, said the government release on Friday. lDGL is processing line pipe tenders of more than Rs 950 crore for around 73,000 MT steel procurement by July, 2020 for progressive supply of 550 Km line pipe from domestic bidders. This quantity is expected to be doubled by the end of current financial year.

A GAIL executive said the company restarted works on all its natural gas pipeline projects across the country. "We have already started works in all our under-construction pipelines -- including Jagdishpur, Baruni and in South India pipelines. We are not facing any shortage of labour for this," said a senior GAIL official, on condition of anonymity. However, the gas major was facing difficulties on the supply front. "Consumption dropped from compressed natural gas and also small scale consumers. However, this will be not having any impact on our capex plans for the year," said the GAIL executive. GAIL is expected to commission it the Kochi to Mangalore pipeline by some time next month.