State-run gas major GAIL India will invest Rs.7,500 crore ($1.5 billion) to develop two major pipelines in southern India, the company said Friday.
Of this investment, Rs.4,500 crore would be spent on the 1,389-km Dabhol-Bangalore pipeline, which would have a capacity of 16 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd), a company statement said.
The second project - Kochi to Mangalore - will cost Rs.3,000 crore, and this too would have a capacity for 16 mmscmd.
GAIL chairman U.D. Choubey Friday called on Karnataka Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao in Bangalore to discuss the projects.
A GAIL release said the chief secretary assured full support from the state government for the implementation of the projects.
GAIL's pipeline network has a current capacity of 155 mmscmd of natural gas. It has a target to build 5,000 km of pipelines in the 11th plan period, which will double the capacity to 300 mmscmd.