By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Nov. 12: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), the state owned petroleum supplier, has initiated to expand the petroleum pipeline from Amlekhgunj to Chitwan.
The NOC has begun works to expand the pipeline from Amlekhgunj to Lothar and Chitwan after the successful operation of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline.
A team of Nepal Oil Corporation with the technical support of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has jointly conducted the route survey and found it feasible and effective in terms of cost and technical aspect, said Birendra Goit, spokesman at the NOC.
“The recently completed route survey of Amlekhgunj-Lothar-Chitwan petroleum pipeline has shown that it is feasible to lay down the pipes at an effective cost,” he said.
He also said that the project would be viable also in terms of federal structure of the nation.
Spokesman Goit said that their survey had focused on constructing the pipeline for the supply of liquefied petroleum gas and other petroleum products, including diesel, kerosene and petrol.
The project is more effective in terms of cost as the investment will be recovered within a couple of years after it comes into operation, he said.
Goit said that it was important to expand the petroleum pipeline to Chitwan as a huge amount of petroleum products is consumed in the Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara, and Bhairahawa.
The import cost will decrease once the pipeline is built, he added.
On the basis of the experience of the just completed Motihari- Raxaul-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline, it was found that the pipeline would be easier to supply the petroleum products as per the requirement without any disturbance.
He said that the project would be forwarded after holding a government level meeting between Nepal and India as the project would be constructed in the model of the Motihari- Raxaul-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline project.
The construction modality and design of the project will be finalised after holding discussions among the government of Nepal, NOC and the IOC, he said.
“There has been no any obstruction to import fuel from the pipeline and the quality of the petroleum products supplied thus is also good. So, the NOC will pay due attention to extend the pipeline from Amlekhgunj to Chitwan,” he said.
He said that there would not be any delay in constructing and expanding the pipeline to Chitwan to save the import cost and distribute fuel to the consumers at a cheaper rate.
The NOC had reduced the selling price of fuel from the first day the Motihari- Raxaul-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline came into operation.
Talking about the supply of fuel from the Motihari-Raxaul-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline, he said that around 60,000 KL diesel was received in the month of October and more than 60,000 KL diesel was expected in November.
Around 12,000 KL diesel has already been supplied by November 11 of this month, Goit said.
“The NOC is only importing diesel from the pipeline even though it is a multipurpose pipeline as the work to construct the depots is still underway. The capacity of the existing depots is not more than 20,000 KL,” he said.
He said that the NOC will import petrol and kerosene through the pipeline based on requirement after completing the construction of the depots.