Govt to allow pvt cos in gas transport

The government will end Gas Authority of India's monopoly over laying natural gas pipelines by allowing private sector firms in gas transportation business, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Thursday.

The government has already allowed Reliance Industries to lay natural gas pipelines from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Ahmedabad in Gujarat via Hyderabad and Uran.

"The government has under consideration a draft pipeline policy, which envisages development of a natural gas pipeline infrastructure in a competitive environment involving both the public and private sectors," he said.

"This will encourage competition, efficiency and greater investment in this sector, all of which will ultimately benefit the consumer and the economy in general," he said.

The draft pipeline policy was based on the feedback received from various stakeholders, including major domestic and international oil and gas companies, different industry chambers and state governments and after inter-ministerial consultations, he said.

Natural gas pipelines being highly capital-intensive projects, they are considered natural monopolies and, therefore, the government proposes to regulate them, he said.

"Gas Transportation and Infrastructure Co Ltd, a company promoted by Reliance Industries Ltd, has been given permission for laying natural gas pipelines along the Kakinada-Hyderabad-Uran-Ahmedabad and Hyderabad-Goa routes," the Minister said.