GAIL India Ltd and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) plan to form a joint venture company for distributing gas to industrial consumers in the state. The company will take about nine months to become operational, from the date of formation.

In the first phase, the joint venture company would tap GAIL's trunk pipe line between Tarapur (near Mumbai) with Dabhol (Ratnagiri) for distribution to the industrial areas en route. An industrial gas corridor is being envisaged along the trunk line between the two locations. Gas will also be made available to non-MIDC industrial estates and to residential areas.

The state's gas requirement is about 40 million standard cubic metres a day, of which about 60 per cent demand is from the industrial segment. MIDC is also in talks with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) for similar tie-ups.