Kathmandu, June 5

Construction of the much-hyped Motihari-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline is almost finished, as a majority of the pipe-laying process for the project has been completed.

As per Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), around 99 per cent of the installation of petroleum pipeline along the Motihari-Amlekhgunj has been completed.

As per NOC, the pipe laying process of 36.6 kilometres on Nepal side has been completed. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which is the developer of the project, has already completed laying pipes along 32.7 kilometres of the project section that falls within the Indian territory.

Petroleum products from India will be imported to Nepal via the 78-kilometre pipeline under this project, which is the first cross-border project in the entire South Asia.

The project was slated to come into operation from mid-April, but now the launch date has been rescheduled for mid-July. A total of 25 Nepali technicians are currently in India to receive an eight-day training that IOC is providing to handle the project.

According to NOC Deputy Director Pushkar Karki, after the training of technicians concludes, the pipeline’s ownership will be handed over to Nepal and it will come into operation.

The project is being built at a total cost of over INR two billion. It is expected to play a crucial role in reducing the annual cost of importing petroleum products from India to Nepal by Rs two billion.

Of the total import of petroleum products, some 70 per cent is made via Amlekhgunj. NOC plans to further expand the pipeline up to Lothar in Chitwan.