Bengaluru to get Rs 160cr waste-to-biogas plant
BENGALURU Bengaluru is set to receive a major municipal waste-management upgrade with the upcoming establishment of a modern compressed biogas (CBG) plant near Kudlu, designed to convert segregated organic wet waste into clean cooking fuel. The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) will construct the ₹160-crore facility on an 18-acre plot located within the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) premises in Hosapalya, off Hosur Road. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to virtually lay the foundation stone for the project during his upcoming visit. According to project details shared by Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya during a recent awareness event, the facility will feature a processing capacity of 300 tonnes of wet waste daily. Once fully operational expected within fifteen months of construction kickoff the plant will produce approximately 12.6 tonnes of compressed biogas every day, alongside 22 tonnes of high-quality organic manure. The installation will process roughly 1.1 lakh tonnes of wet waste annually, generating sufficient cooking gas to supply about 25,000 households. Projections indicate that the daily output will match the energy equivalent of roughly 890 standard LPG cylinders, potentially saving the country from importing 3.2 lakh cylinders annually and conserving about ₹27 crore in foreign exchange. GAIL will finance the entire capital expenditure, while the state government has provided the 18-acre land parcel under a 25-year operational lease agreement. The selection of the KCDC site holds notable significance due to past local opposition. Originally established in 1975 as a scientific composting center, the plant suspended operations in 2008 following intense neighborhood protests over foul odors. Although reopened in 2013 despite lingering community concerns, the new GAIL-backed compressed biogas initiative represents a technologically advanced approach to modernizing urban waste processing and turning municipal refuse into sustainable energy.
