225 bids for 10th round of city pipe gas auction.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board has received 225 bids for 50 geographical areas (regions) that were offered in the tenth city gas distribution bid round. The technical bids will be opened between February 7 and 9 and after technical and financial evaluation, the entities will be shortlisted by February-end, a PNGRB statement said.

The PNGRB expects an investment of about Rs. 50,000 crore for developing the city gas infrastructure. The 50 geographical areas on offer cover 124 districts (112 complete and 12 partially) across 14 States. This is 18 per cent of India’s geographical area and 24 per cent of its population.

In the ninth round, the PNGRB had granted authorisation for developing 84 geographical areas. Till September 2018, there were 96 areas where development of the city gas distribution network was underway across the country.

After the ninth round, CGD will be accessible in 178 areas, covering approximately 280 districts spread over 26 States and Union Territories.

After successful completion of the tenth round, 70 per cent of the country’s population will be on the CGD network.

HBL