Petroleum Pipeline Project: second phase works accelerated

Amlekhgunj: The second phase of works under the Nepal-India Cross-Border Petroleum Pipeline Project has been accelerated.

Construction of physical infrastructures including petrol tank and ‘transmix tank’ has been started at the depot located at Amalekhgunj of Bara under the Nepal Oil Corporation Provincial Office. At an interaction with media persons at the Amalekhgunj-based office on Wednesday, Office Chief Pradeep Kumar Yadav said construction works have been forwarded by completing all necessary preparations.

Two petrol tanks with a capacity of 4,100 kilolitres, two transmix tanks with a capacity of 250 kilolitres, 24 automatic re-fillers, a pump house and a lab would be constructed under the project. Likhita Infrastructure Pvt Ltd has got the responsibility to construct all infrastructures within a year. Nepal Oil Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation are jointly investing in the project.

Nepal Oil Corporation will invest around Rs 1.54 billion and Indian Oil Corporation around Rs 750 million in the project, added Yadav. A target has been set to bring the project into operation from coming to English New Year by completing the project within this December. Following this, petrol would be supplied to Nepal through the pipeline. At present, only diesel is being supplied through it.

Although there is the possibility to supply both petroleum products and kerosene through the same pipeline, Nepal is importing petroleum products through tankers due to a lack of space to store it.

Following the construction of the project, all petroleum products and kerosene will be supplied through the pipeline. This would reduce technical losses and environmental pollution, and save transport expenditures, said Yadav, adding that Nepal would save approximately Rs 150 million annually from it. With this, storing capacity of the Amalekhgunj depot would increase to 24,840 kiloliters of diesel and 16,630 kiloliters of petrol.

The process to install two tanks with a capacity of storing 5,000 petroleum products each has started in line with the government’s policy to store them for 90 days, he said. Religare Construction Pvt. Ltd. has won the contract for the project. —