Shimla: Himachal Pradesh will be connected to the gas pipeline by next year, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said here Thursday.

"The industrial hub of the state, the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh area, would be connected with the gas pipeline in the first phase through Nangal town of Punjab where the laying of pipeline is in progress," he told reporters after meeting Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board of India chairman Lalit Mansingh.

"The state would be creating a complete corridor to identify the areas where piped gas facility would be created especially for commercial use," Dhumal said, adding that the government would also explore the possibility to extend the pipeline to other industrial towns.

"Cement factories like Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC in the state would be prospective beneficiaries of the piped gas," the chief minister said.

Himachal Pradesh has 38 industrial areas and 15 industrial estates.

The state's industrial sector received a major boost in 2003 following the special industrial package announced by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance government at the centre.

Lured by the industrial package, more than 900 medium and large-scale units have set up base in Himachal Pradesh since then. Of these, 623 units have been set up in the Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh areas of Solan district.