City gas distributor Indraprastha Gas (IGL) plans to increase capital expenditure by around 67 percent during FY26 in order to diversify from core business to move into solar, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed biogas (CBG), managing director Kamal Kishore Chatiwal has told Moneycontrol.
IGL has lined up a capex of over Rs 2,000 crore, a sharp increase from Rs 1,200 crore spent in 2024-25, on account expansion to mitigate risks related to core city gas distribution (CGD) business.
“Diversification (would help) to mitigate risks that we come across in core business from electric vehicles (EVs) and other things. Suppose, autos are phased out; we don’t know what shape the EV policy would take,” said Chatiwal.
Of the total capex, IGL will spend Rs 1,400 crore on core business while Rs 600 crore has been allocated for diversification. IGL had utilised almost full capex of last year on its CGD business, spending only a few crores on other businesses.
IGL eyes Solar, CBG projects
The board of IGL had in April approved the establishment of a 500 megawatt-peak (MWp) solar power plant in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district at an estimated investment of Rs 2,066 crore. The project will be implemented through a joint venture with state-run Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RVUNL).
Chatiwal said the cabinet approval of Rajasthan government for the project is expected next month, post which project implementation activities would commence.
In addition to the solar project, IGL will also set up 10 CBG plants where the company’s minimum equity would be 26 percent. The company will also establish six to seven retail LNG stations in FY26.
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