IOC to open LPG stations for vehicles

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, JULY 25. The Indian Oil Corporation will open four LPG dispensing stations in Bangalore. The company has already earmarked the Kaveri Service Station at Koramangala to be converted into an auto LPG station for vehicles running on the fuel, the company Chairman, Mr. M.A. Pathan, said here on Wednesday.

Mr. Pathan, who was inaugurating the Karnataka State Office (KASO) of the company, said the outlets were expected to be commissioned by the end of September.

The KASO building, with a built-up area of over 24,000 sq. ft., has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 4.86 crores. The building has LAN cabling and V-SAT connection.

The company's Director, Marketing, Mr. O.N. Marwaha, said the IOC retail outlets in the cities were being upgraded to world standards with state-of-the-art facilities such as multi-product fuel dispensers, ATMs, convenience stores, automatic car wash, smart cards, cyber cafes, credit cards, quick lube change and computerised car-care centres.

To boost value-added services, Mr. Marwaha said the company had gone into strategic tie-ups with various service-providers such as Domino's Pizza for setting up their counters in the IOC retail outlets, Apollo Group for operating the pharmacies, banks for ATMs and with Dishnet DSL for cyber cafes.

On the IOC's plans to expand its supply network in the State, Mr. Pathan said the company sought to create fresh capacities of 70,000 kl. for petrol and diesel at an estimated cost of Rs. 117 crores, and 44,000 tonnes per annum for LPG at Rs. 30 crores.

Besides, he said, the construction of a bottling plant in Shimoga was in progress. ``A new LPG bottling plant of 78 TMTPA capacity at a cost of Rs. 61 crores was commissioned in April 2001 at Devangunthi. While the investments in fuel storage facilities are slated in Gulbarga, Belgaum, Bellary and Hassan, investments in bottling plant will be in Shimoga,'' he said.

Mr. Pathan said the existing storage facilities had been augmented by 64,000 kl. at a cost of Rs. 35 crore. ``Plans are on to enhance the network by adding more sales points at a cost of Rs. 78 crores. All these investments add up to Rs. 275 crores for the State to be spent over two years,'' he said.

He said the company paid Rs. 700 crores as commercial tax in the State last fiscal year. The company had developed software which would enable a dealer to computerise all workings. The IOC would launch ``smart gold'' and ``fleet card.'' Fleet card would enable drivers of trucks to draw oil from the IOC outlets on credit throughout the country. IOC would start mobile retail outlets to reach out to far-flung areas, he added.

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