Gujarat State Petronet Ltd’s cross-country pipeline project delayed

The commissioning of the ambitious cross-country pipeline of Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL) from Mehsana to Bhatinda has been delayed by three to four months due to the second wave of Covid-19.

The 1,670km pipeline linking Mehsana in Gujarat to Bhatinda in Punjab was earlier scheduled to be commissioned in June. The natural gas trunk pipeline project, which passes through Jaipur in Rajasthan, is estimated to cost Rs 5,500 crore.

“This project is now expected to be up and running by September or October,” according to a senior company official aware of the development. “The delay has been due to Covid-related restrictions including in the neighboring state of Rajasthan,” the official said. “Also, the shortage of labourers during the second Covid wave contributed to the delay.”

Earlier, GSPL, a Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) group company, had proposed to take the pipeline project all the way to Srinagar, covering a distance of another 750-odd kilometres in the process. However, GSPL abandoned its plans last year due to financial viability issues, the official said.

Contracts for laying the pipeline infrastructure have been awarded to companies such as Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd and Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd. More than 93% of the project is complete, said a GSPC official.

The pipeline project is a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan for the National Gas Grid.