Riding high on a 32 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 1,565 crore (Rs 15.65 billion), Gas Authority of India said on Wednesday it would invest Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) over the next five years.

Announcing the financial results, GAIL chairman and managing director Prashanto Banerjee said, "An investment of Rs 20,000 crore has been planned for the next five years."

The net profit of the company surged by 32 per cent from Rs 1,186 crore (Rs 11.86 billion) in 2001-02, while the turnover increased by 11 per cent to Rs 11,763 crore (Rs 117.63 billion) as compared to Rs 10,553 crore (Rs 105.53 billion) during 2001-02.

Banerjee said the increased turnover was due to hike in volumes of gas handled from KG Basin fields, increase in polymer and LPG sales, LPG handling through the Jamnagar-Loni LPG pipeline system and sales of other liquid hydrocarbons.

Banerjee said the ‘impressive' gains had been on account of various factors including increase in net profit, revenue, LPG production, capacity utilisation of petrochemical plant and projects worth Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion) which were underway.

Gas throughput was 62.69 MMSCMD during 2002-03 as against 61.60 MMSCMD in the previous year and total liquid hydrocarbon production, including LPG, was over 1.31 million MT as compared to 1.13 million MT in 2001-02, an increase of 16 per cent, he said.

LPG transmission through pipeline was over 1.5 million MT in 2002-03 as compared to 1.31 million MT in the previous year. GAIL sold 290,000 tonne of polymer as against 251,000 tonne in 2001-02, apart from exporting 59,725 tonne of polymer during 2002-03.

Impressed by the performance in petrochemicals segment, Banerjee said, the GAIL Board had approved the Rs 647 crore (Rs 6.47 billion) UPPC expansion project for increasing the ethylene capacity to 4,40,000 TPA from 3,00,000 TPA with additional cracking furnace.

Banerjee said GAIL would increase the polymer capacity to 4,30,000 TPA with a new LLDPE/HDPE Swing Plant and as part of a strategic initiative, it had entered into a product swapping agreement with Haldia Petrochemicals for polyethylens and polypropylens.

He said for creating a national green quadrilateral of pipeline network for a ‘clean energy corridor' through the National Gas Grid, GAIL would execute a scheme that covered Kakinada-Kolkata, Kakinada-Uran, Kakinada-Chennai, West Bengal-Jagdishpur, Bangalore-Chennai, Dabhol-Bangalore and Kochi-Mangalore-Bangalore sectors.

"Board approval has already been obtained for pre-project activities and route survey has been carried out for all the sectors," he said.