Date:23/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/23/stories/2008012358430300.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Rosaiah opens auto gas filling station

Staff Reporter

‘Mygaz’ is the first such facility in private sector

Finance Minister predicts bright future for city
Vizag-Kakinada coastal corridor spurs development

— Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

NEW BEGINNING: Finance Minister K. Rosaiah filling fuel into a car after inaugurating ‘Mygaz’ LPG filling station in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. He is flanked by P.K. Gupta, Chairman, Sahuwala Group of Companies and Pendurthy MLA T. Gurumurthy Reddy.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Finance Minister K. Rosaiah inaugurated the first automobile LPG dispensing station in the private sector - ‘Mygaz’ - on the National Highway at Marripalem here on Tuesday.

Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the LPG bunk, he predicted a bright future for the city, referring to reports that Vizag was poised to be among the top five cities in the world by 2020.

He felt that the proposed Visakhapatnam–Kakinada coastal corridor would spur further development.

Though the city had many facilities, there were some gaps and private entrepreneurs were contributing to development in their own way, he felt.

Vehicular emission

Besides economic benefits to customers, use of LPG in automobiles was significantly contributing to lowering vehicular emission and thereby reducing environmental pollution, Mr. Rosaiah said.

Referring to the depletion of petroleum reserves, the Minister said that the finding of petrol and gas reserves in the K-G basin was a good sign.

Piped LPG supply

The State government was planning to lay a pipeline connecting the main cities in the State to provide piped gas to domestic consumers to overcome the problems in the supply of gas cylinders.

Quoting company representatives, he said that most of the parts required for the gas kits were being manufactured locally except a few that were being imported from Italy.

Hopeful

He hoped that the Mygaz would enter into an alliance with the Italian company and manufacture that also locally.

Chairman of the Sahuwala Group of Companies P.K. Gupta said that the company has been manufacturing LPG cylinders for public sector oil companies like BPC and IOC for the last 25 years.

It had diversified into auto gas in 2000.

He said that more auto gas filling stations were planned along the National Highway between Bhubaneswar and Chennai.

Pendurthi MLA T. Gurumurthy Reddy and Mygaz Director Muralidhar spoke. Directors Naveen Gupta and Abhishek Gupta were present.