Cabinet approves capital grant for North East Natural Gas Pipeline Grid

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved the North East Gas Grid Project of Indradhanush Gas Grid Ltd (IGGL) with viability gap funding at 60 per cent of the estimated cost of Rs 9,265 crore.

The quantum of viability gap funding will include interest during the construction and not be linked with upward capital cost variation.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) will identify milestones for major activities of the project and link the releases of capital grant.

The total length of the pipeline is 1,656 km. The gas pipeline grid will be developed in eight states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

The project will ensure reliable and uninterrupted natural gas supplies to consumers, according to an official statement.

"Availability of natural gas across the region is expected to boost industrial growth without impacting the environment and offer a better quality of life to the people in general due to use of cleaner and green fuel," said the statement.

IGGL is a joint venture company of five central public sector enterprises -- IOCL, ONGC, GAIL, OIL and NRL.