New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS): State-run GAIL will invest Rs 1.05 lakh crore in the next five years for expanding pipelines and city gas distribution network, among other infrastructure development, its new Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Jain said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters here, the newly-appointed GAIL chief also said that the public sector energy company will also invest the amount in enhancing its petrochemical production capacity.

Jain said that the company has planned a capital expenditure of of Rs 45,000-50,000 crore in laying pipelines, Rs 40,000 crore for city gas distribution (CGD) business and Rs 10,000 crore for exhancing the petrochemical capacity expansion

He also said with the emphasis on raising the share of natural gas in India's energy basket to 15 per cent by 2030 from the current level of 6.2 per cent, gas pipelines are being planned to transport the fuel to the eastern and northeastern parts of the country and to the the south.

The Maharatna company has an existing pipeline network of over 12,000 kilometre and it will increase its network to around 7,000 kilometre of pipeline length in the next five years, Jain said.

Its existing natural gas pipeline network has pan-India presence and covers 16 states.

The emphasis on infrastructure development comes on the back of the government's aim of turning towards gas-based energy and becoming lesser reliant on polluting fuels.

The company is also scaling up its capacity for imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).