Guwahati: The Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) is likely to be opened on March 18, official sources said.
The ambitious 130-km long pipeline project, constructed at a cost of Rs 377.08 crore, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
The pipeline will transport fuel from Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited’s (NRL) marketing terminal at Siliguri in West Bengal to the Parbatipur depot of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) in Dinajpur district of the neighbouring country.
The Rs 346 crore India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Project (IBFPP)
The total project cost for the construction of the IBFPL is Rs 377.08 crore. Out of this, NRL’s investment is Rs 91.84 crore for the India portion of the pipeline, while the remaining Rs 285.24 crore for the Bangladesh portion is being funded by the Indian government as a grant-in-aid.
The capacity of the 130-kilometre pipeline will be one million metric tonnes per annum.
According to the Dhaka-Delhi agreement, fuel oil would be transported to Bangladesh for 15 years through the pipeline in the first phase and the term would be extended on the consensus of the countries.
The mechanical works of the project was completed on December 12 last year, said an official.
Experts say the project would boost bilateral trade between the two countries.
The IBFPL has been successfully implemented because of the true friendship between India and Bangladesh, and it will remain as a testimony of the best relationship between the two South Asian nations, said an official.