Kolkata, Feb 13 (UNI) The West Bengal Government has set a target of supplying cooking gas through pipelines to around 15 lakh domestic users in areas under KMDA, within the next five years.
The State Finance and Industry Minister, Dr Amit Mitra said this while speaking at an interactive session, ‘Gas Industry in West Bengal’, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in Kolkata.
He said that natural gas is a focus area of the State Government and there is huge business potential for industrial, commercial, transport and domestic sectors.
The gas industry can also provide huge employment in the producer sector, consumer sector and infrastructure sector.
Around 44,705 inch km pipeline (all types) will be commissioned within the next five years, with a compression capacity of 14,62,100 kg/day.
The project is expected to start from April 1, 2019, with an economic life of 25 years.
The outcome is expected to give a major boost to business and industry.
There is only 7 per cent utilisation of natural gas at present, and hence, the focus is on taking it to higher levels, Dr Mitra added.
The minister also pointed out that ONGC has discovered natural gas reserves in Ashokenagar in North 24 Parganas district, which will start to be commercially exploited soon.
At the summit, the managing director of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) said that green energy is the future of Bengal and so it has been given an emphasis.
Both the public and private sectors are working together in this regard.
UNI SJC RN