MUMBAI: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has decided to set up petrol pumps in the state to increase its earnings and overcome the losses incurred due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
State Transport Minister Anil Parab, who is also the chairman of MSRTC, made this announcement on Tuesday.
"The MSRTC will get a sustainable source of income through the petrol pump business," Parab said.
The transport corporation recently signed an agreement with the Indian Oil Corporation for the project.
As per the agreement, 30 petrol and diesel pumps and five Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) pumps will be set up on vacant plots of the MSRTC.
The Indian Oil Corporation will build the fuel pumps and the MSRTC will operate them.
In May this year, the MSRTC ventured into freight services business.
The government-run undertaking recently also started operating its tyre remoulding plants across the state on a commercial basis, including for private vehicles.
With a fleet of over 18,000 buses and nearly one lakh workforce, MSRTC is one of the biggest state road transport corporations in the county.
Before the outbreak of COVID-19, over 65 lakh passengers used to travel daily in MSRTC buses.