Parallel Lpg Sector To Upgrade Tech To Take On Psus

The parallel liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sector has decided to pool its technology and infrastructure and pose a challenge to the public sector companies in the line. The decision was taken at the annual general meeting of the Confederation of Indian LPG Industry here yesterday.

Confederation president D V Manohar said this arrangement will enable private bottling companies cut cost and also help consumers of one company get attached to another on moving to an area where the original supplier does not have a branch.

Manohar said the entry of the multinationals companies (MNCs) Mobil Peevees, Burma Shell and IBP Caltex into their fold had strengthened private bottlers.

The price of LPG in the international market, which had doubled in the last three months due to the severe winter in the west, has started coming down, Manohar said. He expected further stabilisation in the price leading to improved bottomline for the industry.

Manohar said the private sector had already invested about Rs 500 crore on infrastructure and another Rs 1,000 crore investment was in the pipeline. By the turn of the century, an additional Rs 1,000 crore would have been invested in infrastructure.

Confederation secretary A K Karkare of the Mumbai-based IMS Petrogas Ltd said that the parallel LPG bottlers currently had half a million domestic customers and the number was on the increase.

The annual general meeting, he said, urged the Centre to remove the customs duty on import of LPG, cut subsidy for the domestic LPG supplied by the public sector, reduce duty on equipment imported to build infrastructure and shelve the `tatkal scheme operated by the public sector companies.