HPCL Storage Terminal to Come Up in Dharmapuri

As part of efforts to strengthen its distribution network in the State, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) has begun spade work for a new products pipeline from Vijayawada to Dharmapuri. The project includes the setting up of a storage terminal in Dharmapuri that would ensure the supply of fuel and lubes to the Coimbatore—Salem belt, besides Madurai and Tirunelveli. The project is estimated to cost Rs. 26.77 billion and is expected to be completed by mid-2021, HPCL sources said.

The terminal will come up at Boodhanalli with an initial capacity of 4.24 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), which can be expanded to 5.85 MTPA. “The Dharmapuri district administration is currently working on getting us the land. In Andhra Pradesh, land acquisition for the pipeline is likely to get over by October. Engineering and tendering are in an advanced stage,” an official source said. Permission from various authorities, including the National Highways Authority of India and the pollution control boards of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, as well as environmental clearance, were being sought, he added.

The 697-km pipeline would run from HPCL’s Vijayawada terminal at Kondapalli and have pumping stations at Markapur and Rayachoty. The terminal would help supply aviation fuel to the Salem airport, which is 29 km away. The oil major’s current share of retail fuels in Tamil Nadu is about 21.7 %.