The Chairman of Gas Authority of India Ltd, Mr B.C. Tripathi, has said that GAIL shall take active steps to establish RLNG (re-gasified liquefied natural gas) terminal in the Krishna-Godavari Basin.
Mr Tripathi, who called on the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, at Secretariat on Friday outlined GAIL plans.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office, initially a floating terminal is planned to be set up. After its success, a land- based terminal will be set up in the State through the Andhra Pradesh Gas Distribution Corporation.
This move comes after requests made by the Chief Minister to the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Jaipal Reddy, to intervene and initiate necessary measures to set up an RLNG terminal in the State through APGDC, wherein GAIL Gas has 50 per cent equity.
The RLNG terminal, when set up, is expected to ensure uninterrupted supply of natural gas to the industries to meet the shortfall. A suitable location along the 974-km-long coastline is likely to be chosen to establish the RLNG terminal. With the State having a natural gas pipeline infrastructure, it would be useful to evacuate and supply gas to some of the industrial establishments, it was felt.
Ceramic and glass industries, which have started their projects in the State, are ready to consume RLNG. The PCPIR (Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region) which is to be established along the Vizag-Kakinada corridor is expected to be one of the big consumers of RLNG.
The State Government has been extending support to establish the RLNG terminal by providing technical support, land and other clearances.
Wipro
The Wipro Chairman, Mr. Azim Premji, also called on the Chief Minister and expressed his interest to associate with the State Government for taking up the Surveillance System in the city involving 1000 CCTV cameras.
The Chief Minister had asked officials to explore the possibilities of setting up surveillance systems in all the traffic junctions as part of the city level infrastructure improvement project. The Corporation has already taken up junction improvements at 34 locations.