By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, December 17, 2017: Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday laid the foundation stone for new Dhamra-Angul gas pipeline and Bhubaneshwar-Cuttack-Paradip natural gas spur line in the state.

The foundation stone was laid at Haripur in Jajpur district.

Pradhan said that this 600-km-long natural gas pipeline project is a New Year gift for the people of coastal districts of Odisha from the Narendra Modi-led central government.

He said that foundation stone for the LNG Terminal at Dhamra at an investment of Rs 6,000 crore has already been laid recently. And gas will be imported from countries like Australia and Qatar and supplied to Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad through a 2,500 km long pipeline, he added.

Out of this, 600 km of the pipeline will be constructed in Odisha covering 13 districts -Bhadrak, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Debagarh, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Khordha, Puri and Kendrapara, and connecting major industrial clusters of Khurdha, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Angul, Dhenkanal, Kalinganagar, Jajpur and Paradip.

“This longest pipeline project is a major step towards the fulfillment of Prime Minister’s dream of developing a gas-based economy and linking eastern India to the country’s Natural Gas Grid. It will pave the way for development of high-quality manufacturing in Odisha,” Pradhan claimed.

He said this will add more values to the minerals of the mineral-rich state like Odisha.

As of now, steel produced in Odisha was limited to the construction of houses and angle making. But now the steel and aluminium which will be produced in Odisha using gas will be of high quality and lead to manufacturing of automobiles and Odisha can be a centre of high-quality steel production, the minister added.

He also called on the Tata Group, which has long been utilizing natural resources of Odisha, to come forward to manufacture heavy vehicles like trucks in Odisha using this natural gas.

As part of this pipeline project, Pradhan had inaugurated supply of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and CNG-run scooters in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

Initially, natural gas will reach Bhubaneswar in special containers called “cascades” which will be transported by road from Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh. Later, Natural Gas will be supplied through the 2655 km long Jagdishpur – Haldia & Bokaro – Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL), popularly known as the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga.

GAIL is implementing the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga and also the City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.