The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) oil supply project is expected to be completed by the middle of this year, which will save money and time, a project official said.
It will solve the existing problems by ensuring uninterrupted fuel oil supply to 16 districts of Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions in shorter time and in a cost-effective manner. Apart from uninterrupted, cheaper and quicker energy supply security, the cross-border pipeline is expected to help BPC reduce the system loss that it incurs in the form of pilferage.
The project is jointly implemented by the Meghna Petroleum Limited of Bangladesh and Numaligarh Refinery Limited of India to connect pipe line from Siliguri in West Bengal, India with Parbatipur in Bangladesh’s Dinajpur district.
When contacted, Mohammad Tipu Sultan, Project Director and General Manager (HR) of Meghna Petroleum Limited told Bangladesh Post that the project work is progressing at a fast pace.
“The pipeline laying work is almost done. Other tasks are running in parallel. More than 60 percent work of the entire project has already been completed. We hope that it will be possible to inaugurate the main pipeline from India to Parbatipur by next June,” he explained.
The capacity of this under-construction 130 km pipeline will be 1 million metric tonnes per year. Bangladesh will import diesel for 15 years from the day when supply commences. Initially, Bangladesh would buy some 2.5 lakh tonnes of diesel. It would then be increased up to 4 to 5 lakh tonnes in the following years.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said that the construction work of India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) is at the last stage. North Bengal and Bangladesh are going to enter a new era in fuel oil transportation.
“Fuel oil will come directly from Numaligarh in India to Parbatipur depot in Dinajpur through a 131.50 km long pipeline. This will save a lot of money every year on fuel transportation. As well as at the earliest, waste-free, uninterrupted oil transportation will be ensured,” said the minster.