Second ranked CGD-IX bidders prepare to battle
As expected the PNGRB is bracing itself for legal challenges from second-ranked bidders unhappy with unrealistic bids quoted by some CGD-IX winners.
One area of almost certain contention will be Chennai, where Adani Gas is expected to challenge Torrent Gas, which won the city on August 29 with a promise to connect 3.3m households with piped gas when the city has only 1.14m homes, according to the last census in 2011. Some argue 2011 was a long time ago and Chennai's population has grown since and will grow further in the next eight years.
But according to PNGRB estimates, the number of homes in Chennai is closer to 2.2m. Many doubt it will grow to 3.3m in eight years.
That's the argument likely to be advanced by second-ranked Adani, which quoted 1.5m homes. Also likely to face a challenge is SKN-Haryana City Gas, which won Puducherry where it offered to connect 130% more homes than the PNGRB's estimate of homes in the city and where second-ranked Torrent offered to connect 120% more; AG&P LNG Marketing came third offering to connect less than 100%.
Likewise for Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu where AG&P ranked first, offering to connect 118% more homes, defeating second-ranked Chennai-based IMC. On July 25, the PNGRB is believed to have defined an "unreasonable bid" as one which offers to connect more than 100% or less than 2% of homes registered by the 2011 census.