The petroleum pipeline from India to Amlekhgunj is set to come into operation soon.
Diesel has been sent from Patna of Bihar Wednesday for trial of the pipeline and it is expected to reach Amlekhgunj by Thursday evening, according to manager of the pipeline project Pradip Kumar Yadav.
Water, material to clean pipes and diesel have been sent from Patna for trial. "The diesel will be taken out by turning the machine on at the time of inauguration," Yadav said. Petroleum products will be imported commercially after inauguration of the pipeline.
Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Spokesperson Birendra Goit revealed that preparations are on to inaugurate the pipeline by mid-August.
Four tanks are in place at Amlekhgunj to store the petroleum products to be brought by the pipeline. Two of those tanks have capacity of 4.10 million liters each and the other two 3.9 million liters.
The pipeline can bring 300 kiloliters of petroleum products every hour. The NOC says it will save Rs 700-800 million in transportation cost every year once the pipeline comes into operation.
New pipeline was laid from Motihari of India to Amlekhgunj (69.5 km with 37.5 km in Nepal) with joint investment of the NOC and the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Patna is almost 200 kilometers away from Motihari.
The IOC has provided grant of Rs 3.20 billion for the pipeline project while the NOC has invested Rs 750 million.
The Nepali investment has yet to be spent. The NOC plans to spend the amount for building storage capacity of 4000 kiloliters, structures for loading tankers and other heads.
