Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for significant petroleum and natural gas projects totaling more than Rs 90 billion on Tuesday. The dedicated projects comprise the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd’s (IOCL) 488-km-long natural gas pipeline from IP101 (Chengalpet) to IP 105 (Sayalkudi) section of the Ennore-Thiruvallur-Bengaluru-Puducherry-Nagapattinam-Madurai-Tuticorin Pipeline and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited’s (HPCL) 697-km-long Vijayawada-Dharmapuri Multiproduct (POL) Petroleum Pipeline (VDPL).
Included in the unveiled projects is the development of a 323-km-long natural gas pipeline from Krishnagiri to Coimbatore section of the Kochi-Koottanad-Bangalore-Mangalore Gas pipeline II (KKBMPL II) by Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL).
Additionally, the foundation stone was laid for laying POL pipelines in the Common Corridor for the proposed grassroots terminal at Vallur, Chennai. According to an official statement, these initiatives in the petroleum and natural gas sector are pivotal steps toward meeting the energy demands for industrial, domestic, and commercial needs in the region. They are anticipated to stimulate employment generation and contribute significantly to the economy.
In the same event, Prime Minister Modi also dedicated the Demonstration Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant (DFRP) at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, to the nation. Developed at a cost of Rs. 4 billion, the DFRP boasts a unique design, the only one of its kind globally, and is capable of reprocessing both carbide and oxide fuels discharged from fast reactors. Entirely designed by Indian scientists, the DFRP marks a crucial milestone in the quest to establish large commercial-scale fast reactor fuel reprocessing plants.
