The Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has rolled out a rather ambitious bid round of city gas distribution (CGD) network across 86 geographical areas (GAs).

Speaking at the first road show after the 9th round CGD bids were called, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said: “There will be an investment of nearly ₹70,000 crore in the areas up for offer during this round. Each geographical area will have an investment of ₹700-1,000 crore.”

Pointing out the achievements of his government in awarding CGD areas, Pradhan said: “There are currently 91 approved geographical areas in the country. Before 2014, there were just 33 of them. After this round, India shall have CGD coverage in nearly 50 per cent of the total 640 districts in the country and about half of the country’s population.”

PNGRB Chairman DK Sarraf said: “The pre-bid conference will be held on May 14. The last date for submitting bids is July 10 and the GAs will be awarded by October 2018. The winners will have 270 days to achieve financial closure and a gas tie-up.”

The new bids have been called on the amount of work that will be committed and the tariff charged beyond the exclusivity period.

“We plan to bid for 16-20 GAs on offer during this round of auctions. Our focus will be the northern region, where we are already present,” an Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) official told BusinessLine .

IGL is the sole distributor of natural gas to CNG and piped natural gas consumers in Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Rewari.

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