“The situation, now, is such that the pipeline will come into operation just by pressing a button,” said Birendra Goit, spokesman at Nepal Oil Corporation. The NOC is preparing to bring the project into operation within August, he said. However, the date to inaugurate the project has not yet been fixed. He informed that the NOC and the Indian Oil Corporation were discussing to fix its operation date.
All works to lay the pipes in the 69.2-kilometer stretch of Motihari-Raxaul-Amlekhgunj have, already, been completed, he said, adding that technical works on the construction of the control rooms were in progress and they would be completed shortly.
Although, the NOC had set a target to bring diesel through the pipeline from mid-April this year, it was delayed by almost four months due to delay in granting approval to cut down the trees of the 10-kilometre forest area. About 36.2-km of the petroleum pipeline — from Raxaul border to Amlekhgunj — lies in Nepal and 33km of it — from Motihari to Raxaul, lies in India.
“The work progress in the pipe laying work has been highly satisfactory, and it is certain that it will complete before the set deadline. The project has set a target to complete it within 30 months once works on the project began,” he said. The work on the project had begun in April 2018.
“This is the multi-product pipeline, we can bring petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuels through the same pipeline. However, we will supply diesel through the pipeline in the first phase. Other products will be supplied after testing the supply of diesel,” Goit told Rising Nepal.
Under the multi-product pipeline system, kerosene will be supplied after each of the three products– diesel, petrol and aviation fuel,” he said. The project was constructed in the support of the IOC. “The cost of fuel transportation will drop by around Rs. 700 million annually after the project comes into operation. This will also reduce the long jam of the petrol tankers at the Birgunj-Pathlaiya-Amlekhgunj road section,” Goit said.
The cost of the project (Amlekhgunj to Raxaul), is estimated at IRs. 2.75 billion, of which, India has borne IRs. 2 billion and the 33-kilometre Raxaul–Motihari pipeline was constructed by India itself. Talking about the security issue of the pipeline, Goit said that Nepal and India would be responsible for the security of the pipeline in their respective territory. He said that the security agencies of Nepal would provide security to the pipeline laid in the Nepali soil.
