A 131.57-kilometre cross-border ‘Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline’ was inaugurated on Saturday as part of cooperation in energy sector between the two neighbouring countries through which Bangladesh will import petroleum products, especially diesel from India.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated the newly built pipeline.
Hasina was connected from her official residence Ganabhaban while Modi was connected from his office in New Delhi.
Of the pipeline, 126.57 kilometres are in Bangladesh while the remaining 5 kilometres have been installed in India.
The BPC, the state agency under the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, has been implementing the project under a 15-year deal with India to annually import 250,000 tonnes to 400,000 tonnes of diesel from the neighbouring country through the cross-border pipeline.
The deal was signed in 2017 following the approval of the Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee on August 23.
Bangladesh annually needs to import 6.6 million tonnes to 7.7 million tonnes of diesel to meet its demand.
According to official documents, the whole consignment of petroleum will come through the cross-border pipeline from India’s Numaligarh refinery, located in Golaghat in north-eastern Indian state of Assam, while Bangladesh will receive it at Parbatipur petroleum fuel depot in the north-western district of Dinajpur.
Edited By-SPT
