The LNG pipeline project in the State is set to achieve yet another major stride with the commissioning of the Kochi-Koottanad stretch spanning 91 km by June 30.
Industries in the Mala region will be the major beneficiaries since the units that are operating in LPG will be able to tap uninterrupted supply of cost-effective natural gas with the commissioning of the line.
According to Tony Mathew, general manager (construction), Gas Authority of India Limited, welding of the pipeline on the 282 km of the total 438-km Kochi-Mangaluru reach has been completed and work on the remaining stretch is set to be completed in a time-bound manner.
October deadline
GAIL has set October 31 as the deadline for commissioning the Koottanad -Mangaluru stretch.
Water-logged patches and a large number of points that demand horizontal dimensional drilling are some of the minor challenges in the stretch.
Braving the resistance in certain pockets, the pipeline project spanning 438 km, 404 km in Kerala and 34 km in Karnataka has been progressing consistently.
Seven reaches
The entire stretch of the pipeline in the State has been divided into seven reaches, six reaches covering Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod and one reach in Karnataka.
Welding has been completed in 58 km out of the 81 km in Kasaragod, 52 km out of the 83 km in Kannur, 48 km out of the 80 km in Kohikode and 29 km of the 58 km in Malappuram.
Welding works over
The entire welding of pipeline on the 72-km passing through Thrissur district has been completed and about 95% of the work has been completed in Palakkad.
The project has already started yielding rewards in Kochi where industrial supply began in 2013 and domestic supply commenced in 2016.
According to M.P. Sukumaran Nair, Chairman, Public Sector Undertakings Restructuring and Internal Audit Board, LNG would be a game changer for the State. Once the availability and accessibility of gas increases, the State would witness a spurt in industrial development and the market for gas-based appliances would also witness a boom.
There is not one sector that would not gain from the use of gas.
All-round growth
All major areas that offer substantial inputs for the growth and development of the economy such as transportation, fertilizer production, bakeries, steel foundries, hotels, food chains, dehumidifiers, tea processing, cold chains, construction, manufacturing of testing and safety equipment, and a legion of others would benefit from the application of gas-based technology, he said.
