January 7, 2006	Saturday	Zilhaj 6, 1426

NEW DELHI, Jan 6: The Indian cabinet on Friday approved building strategic crude oil reserves to enhance the country’s energy security, the country’s defence minister said.

A cabinet committee gave the nod to the construction of the 5-million-ton crude oil reserves, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

The storage depots would be built over the next nine years at an estimated cost of 112.7 billion rupees, the minister said.

The facilities, to be fashioned after the United States’ storage depots, will be built at two places — Mangalore on India’s west coast, and the eastern port city of Vishakapatnam.—AFP