HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, April 29: Assam’s economy is set to receive a major boost following an agreement signed between the Assam Gas Company Limited (AGCL) and Oil India Limited (OIL) on Saturday.
The two companies signed an agreement to establish a joint-venture private limited company with the mandate to lay, build and operate city natural gas distribution networks in parts of Assam and Tripura.
The JV company, with 51 percent of share equity owned by the Government of Assam-owned AGCL and OIL retaining the remaining 49 percent, will build local natural gas grids and provide piped natural gas to domestic and commercial establishments in several districts of Assam and Tripura. The company will also set up compressed natural gas (CNG) stations.
At the signing ceremony held at Janata Bhawan, Guwahati, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed confidence that the agreement would provide a major boost to the ongoing process of industrial development in the state.
The JV company, with an authorized share capital of ₹500 crore and initial paid-up capital of ₹100 crore, is expected to strengthen the state’s economy in the days to come.
The chief minister also expressed his gratitude towards OIL for its role in the economic growth of the state for the past many decades. He lauded the company’s management for reinvesting a part of its earnings in Assam and other parts of the Northeast through initiatives such as the agreement signed on Saturday. The chief minister further praised OIL for its foray into novel energy territories such as solar energy production, among others.
The signing event was attended by Assam Industries minister Bimal Bora, Public Health Engineering Departmental minister Jayanta Mallabaruah, chairman of AGCL Bolin Chetia, chairman and managing director of OIL Ranjit Rath, among others. This joint venture is expected to aid the state’s transition towards a greener fuel-based economy, in sync with the Government of India’s Northeast Hydrocarbon Vision 2030.
