Bara, June 20

One-third of the pipeline laying work of the Raxaul-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline project has been completed, according to project sources. So far, twelve kilometres of the pipeline has already been laid.

According to project engineer Sharad Prasad Poudyal, around one-third of the project is over. “As there were no obstructions, laying of the pipeline has been completed in Pathalaiya and Simara areas,” he said, adding that work was under way in the Birgunj bypass area now.

As for places such as Parawanipur and Jitpur, the road upgradation work is still going on and electricity poles are yet to be removed, which has caused delay in laying the pipeline. The engineer further informed that the project would be completed on time if work continued in the same way.

The pipeline project, most of which falls in the under-construction Birgunj-Pathalaiya commercial road, will be 36.2-km from Raxaul on the border to Amlekhgunj on the Nepali side, while another 33.7-km stretch from Motihari to Raxaul falls on the Indian side. The estimated cost of the project is around three billion Indian rupees.