75 % of Indo-Nepal pipeline construction complete: NOC

About seventy-five per cent of the petroleum pipeline jointly being constructed by India and Nepal has been completed, the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) stated.

Speaking to ANI, Sushil Bhattarai, the acting managing director of the NOC confirmed that 75 per cent progress in the first transnational pipeline connecting India and Nepal has been achieved.

"In the Nepali side, I think 70 to 75 per cent of the laying of the pipeline has been completed as of today. When you consider the distance from the Motihari (Bihar) to Amlekhganj (Nepal), we can take it as 50 per cent," Bhattarai said.

The first petroleum pipeline extending from India's Motihari to Amlekhganj in Parsa is being jointly constructed by the Indian and Nepalese governments. The NOC is funding the construction of the pipeline on behalf of the Nepal government.

"This petroleum pipeline project is progressing smoothly. We have already laid around 18 kilometres of the pipeline in the Nepalese section. Similarly, other activities also are happening as per the schedule," Bhattarai added.

India is pumping Rs 3.2 billion for the project, while Nepal will spend as much as Rs 1.2 billion for the construction of the pipeline.

The Nepal and Indian governments had signed the agreement for the construction of the pipeline on August 24, 2015, in Nepal's capital city of Kathmandu. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Indian government, Dharmendra Pradhan, had signed the agreement.

The pipeline stretches almost 69 kilometres, covering a distance of 32.7 kilometres in Indian territory and, and 36.2 kilometres in Nepali territory. The pipeline has the capacity of supplying 200,000 litres of fuel on an hourly basis. A fuel pumping facility has been established in Motihari.