Since diesel started being supplied to Nepal through the pipeline in mid-July 2019, the government is saving around Rs. 2 billion annually.
Pradeep Yadav, chief engineer of Nepal Oil Corporation, Madhes Regional Office, Amlekhgunj, said that a huge amount of spending for transportation of diesel by tankers from Patna in India to Amlekhgunj via pipeline is being saved.
An agreement has been signed between Nepal and India to spend IRs. 1.28 billion for the construction of petrol storage depots.
If the work is completed on time as per the plan, the import of petrol through the pipeline will start from January 2024.
The construction of four storage tanks that can store around 16,000 kilometres has been started in the Amlekhgunj depot, which is spread over an area of about 20 bighas, in the second phase of the project. He said that once the petrol starts arriving, there will be a monthly saving of Rs. 150 million for transportation expenses, technical expenses and losses.
So far, it has not been possible to import petrol into Nepal through the pipeline. The main reason for this is that the petrol storage capacity in Amlekhgunj is low.
The work for the construction of storage depots has already started, it is estimated that it will take about one and a half years to import petrol through the pipeline.
The pipeline project completed with the financial support of the government of India was completed eight months before the target.
Yadav claimed that the problem of environmental destruction, traffic jams and accidents on highways, leakage of petroleum during transportation and the purity of petroleum is freed from the problems of diesel importing through the pipeline.
The construction of the pipeline was completed by the end of 2018. Petrol, diesel and kerosene often come from a single pipe. Now only diesel is imported.
The first international petroleum pipeline in South Asia was officially inaugurated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli through video conference on September 10, 2019 at Amlekhgunj.
From the same day, diesel had started to arrive in Nepal through the pipeline.
Source : TRN,
