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The first phase of the pipeline laid by GAIL India for distribution of re-gasified liquified natural gas (RLNG) will be inaugurated on Monday.
The 43-km pipeline stretches from Petronet LNG’s terminal from Puthuvypeen to Udyogamandal and Ambalamugal. Companies such as FACT, BSES, TCC, Nitta Gelattin, HOCL and BPCL are expected to benefit from the pipeline.
A press statement issued here said GAIL has laid a 30-inch pipeline from Puthuvypeen to Udyogamandal. From Udyogamandal to Ambalamugal it has laid an 18-inch pipeline. GAIL could successfully acquire land from the public to lay the pipeline for about 6 km in the first phase.
The remaining land in the 43-km stretch has been made available by different institutions and companies such as the Cochin Port Trust, International Container Transshipment Terminal, the Indian Navy, KSEB, Co-Operative Medical College Kalamassery, HMT, FACT, Kalamassery Municipality, Kinfra, Kochi Corporation and SmartCity.
As gas pipelines are generally laid underground, a minimum soil cover of 1 metre is given above a pipeline. Pipelines passing through water bodies in and around Kochi are placed at a depth ranging from 3 to 20 metres above the lowest point of the river bed. The agricultural land where the pipelines are laid can be used again for farming, the statement said.
GAIL acquires only the right to use land for the project. The land owner will retain ownership rights and can sell or retain the land at his own will.
RLNG will be made available to the NTPC project at Kayamkulam through pipelines, which will be laid along the seabed. The agreement with KSEB regarding this will be signed soon.
The Brahmapuram and Cheemeni projects in the State can also look forward to using RLNG as fuel, the statement said.
In Kerala, the pipeline being laid by GAIL will pass through the districts of Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Alappuzha, and Kasargod.
A joint venture company with the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, Kerala Gail Gas Ltd, has been formed to participate in the bidding of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board for distribution of city gas in Kerala.
The work on the 505 km pipeline from Kochi to Mangalore will start soon. When this is completed 7 districts from Ernakulam to Kasargod will benefit from the project, the statement added.
> sajeevkumar.v@thehindu.co.in
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