Bengal Gas Company Ltd, a joint venture between central PSU GAIL and state PSU Greater Calcutta Gas Supply Corporation Ltd, will plough Rs 5,000 crore over the next five years into a city gas distribution network in six southern districts of Bengal, including Calcutta.

GAIL, which holds a 74 per cent stake in the JV, will arrange Rs 1,500 crore equity, while about Rs 500 crore would be brought in by the Bengal government entity.

“The rest would be financed by debt which has already been tied up. We are farming out contracts to execute the project,” E.S. Ranganathan, director (marketing) of GAIL, said.

The main trunk pipeline carrying natural gas has already reached Durgapur and it would be flagged off officially by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, along with two other oil industry projects from Haldia.

As part of the Urja Ganga project, the main trunk pipeline will come to the north of Calcutta and proceed to Haldia, where it will serve the large industries located at the port town. Ranganathan, who was in Calcutta ahead of the PM’s visit, said the pipeline, being laid by GAIL directly, would reach Calcutta in the next 12 months.

BGCL plans to build 130 compressed natural gas (CNG) stations to supply clean fuel to the transport sector in these six districts and at least 30 of them would be ready by the end of the year.

It also intends to supply piped natural gas to 12 lakh households, along with small industrial units.

The century-old GCGSCL has an underground pipe network in Calcutta that supplied coal gas. to consumers.

Bulk of the investment will go into its upgrade to offer reliable, round-the-clock and safe service.

Majority of the investment will go into that.

The city gas distribution network, which has the potential to clean up the air quality of the city as it did in Mumbai and Delhi, has been in the works for more than a decade. However, it has gained momentum in the last few years.