GSPC to add 1 million domestic gas consumers
The Gujarat government has set an ambitious target to add one million domestic gas consumers over the next 1-1.5 years through GSPC group entities of City Gas Distribution (CGD), Gujarat Gas Ltd and Sabarmati Gas Ltd.
To achieve this target and fast track the CGD network expansion in northern Gujarat, the Gujarat government-run Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) has sought management control of Sabarmati Gas Ltd from the JV partner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).
GSPC has written to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) seeking management control of SGL, which was set up in 2006 as a JV between GSPC, GSPL and BPCL.
“This is to make the management (at SGL) more active and aggressive to expand CGD network in northern Gujarat. There is no plan to merge SGL with other entities. SGL is our group company, and we are only seeking the management so as to fast-track the network expansion as aggressively as we are doing in Gujarat Gas,” JN Singh, MD, GSPC, told Business Line.
BPCL holds 25 per cent in Sabarmati Gas and currently controls the management, while GSPC, with its subsidiary GSPL holds 25.01 per cent in SGL, while the rest was with institutional investors. In February this year, GSPL bought additional 13.71 per cent from the institutional investors to increase the combined holding to 38.72 per cent now.
