KATHMANDU, DEC 09 - 2011
Nepal has asked India for a grant assistance to build the proposed Raxaul-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline. Nepal formally sought the southern neighbour's help for the cross-border pipeline project at the recently concluded Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting in New Delhi.
"We have requested the Indian side for assistance to construct the project, and they were positive," said Purushottam Ojha, secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies.
Secretary Ojha said that the Indian side had asked for details of the cost and land the required for the project. "Now the ministry will prepare the details that India wants," said Ojha.
The minutes of the Nepal-India IGC meeting states, "The Government of Nepal wishes to construct a petroleum product pipeline connecting the IOC Depot at Raxaul with the NOC Depot at Amlekhgunj and has requested for grant assistance from the Government of India."
The much talked about Nepal-India cross-border petroleum pipeline project is yet to take off, thanks largely to indecision on the part of the Nepal government. Earlier, the project was planned to be constructed through a joint venture company with the participation of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
NOC and IOC were ready to finalize the registration of the JV company after the agreement to construct the pipeline. However, the plan was cancelled in the first week of December 2010 when the visiting IOC team said the JV project would be unworkable which made NOC think about an alternative modality.
The two sides had agreed to construct the project under a separate ownership-joint operation model, dropping the previous idea of a JV during the bilateral talks between NOC and IOC in Mumbai in March 2011. According to the agreement, Nepal and India would construct the pipeline separately on their respective territories, and it would then be linked after signing a bilateral pipeline treaty. However, construction of the 40-km long pipeline stalled with NOC undecided whether to build it on its own or have IOC do it.
The project has been estimated to cost Rs 1.60 billion excluding the cost of acquiring land. A pre-feasibility study in 2004 and a technical study in 2006 had determined the bilateral pipeline project to be economically viable, provided it operated unhindered for 20 years. The project, which was first proposed by IOC in 1995, is intended to reduce the transportation cost of fuel by over 50 percent.
The project is envisaged to reduce leakage and make the supply cleaner and cheaper. It could also provide relief to Nepali consumers from the frequent shortages caused largely by transport strikes and highway bandas. The report of the High-Level Petroleum Reform Committee had also suggested immediate construction of the pipeline.
Source: Kantipur
Nepal has asked India for a grant assistance to build the proposed Raxaul-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline. Nepal formally sought the southern neighbour's help for the cross-border pipeline project at the recently concluded Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting in New Delhi.
"We have requested the Indian side for assistance to construct the project, and they were positive," said Purushottam Ojha, secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies.
Secretary Ojha said that the Indian side had asked for details of the cost and land the required for the project. "Now the ministry will prepare the details that India wants," said Ojha.
The minutes of the Nepal-India IGC meeting states, "The Government of Nepal wishes to construct a petroleum product pipeline connecting the IOC Depot at Raxaul with the NOC Depot at Amlekhgunj and has requested for grant assistance from the Government of India."
The much talked about Nepal-India cross-border petroleum pipeline project is yet to take off, thanks largely to indecision on the part of the Nepal government. Earlier, the project was planned to be constructed through a joint venture company with the participation of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
NOC and IOC were ready to finalize the registration of the JV company after the agreement to construct the pipeline. However, the plan was cancelled in the first week of December 2010 when the visiting IOC team said the JV project would be unworkable which made NOC think about an alternative modality.
The two sides had agreed to construct the project under a separate ownership-joint operation model, dropping the previous idea of a JV during the bilateral talks between NOC and IOC in Mumbai in March 2011. According to the agreement, Nepal and India would construct the pipeline separately on their respective territories, and it would then be linked after signing a bilateral pipeline treaty. However, construction of the 40-km long pipeline stalled with NOC undecided whether to build it on its own or have IOC do it.
The project has been estimated to cost Rs 1.60 billion excluding the cost of acquiring land. A pre-feasibility study in 2004 and a technical study in 2006 had determined the bilateral pipeline project to be economically viable, provided it operated unhindered for 20 years. The project, which was first proposed by IOC in 1995, is intended to reduce the transportation cost of fuel by over 50 percent.
The project is envisaged to reduce leakage and make the supply cleaner and cheaper. It could also provide relief to Nepali consumers from the frequent shortages caused largely by transport strikes and highway bandas. The report of the High-Level Petroleum Reform Committee had also suggested immediate construction of the pipeline.
Source: Kantipur
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