AGENCIES
The landmark Motihari-Amlekhgunj petroleum products pipeline between India and Nepal has been completed and now it is ready for commercial operation. Indian Oil Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation successfully tested transfer of the pipeline Friday.
Motihari-Amlekhgunj is the first transnational petroleum pipeline form India and first South Asian oil pipeline corridor. It is also the first oil pipeline in Nepal.
The prestigious project is expected to be inaugurated soon by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli. The 69 kilometre-long pipeline has been constructed by India in just 15 months, half of its 30 months deadline.
Since 1974, Nepal has been importing its entire major petroleum products including petrol, diesel, ATF and LPG from India. The annual export worth of these products is over Eight thousand five hundred crore rupees. The oil pipeline will ensure smooth, cost effective and environment-friendly supply of petroleum products to Nepal.