Kathmandu, August 6
After successfully laying a pipeline from Motihari of India to Amalekhgunj of Bara district in Nepal to transport petroleum products, the government has launched efforts to extend the pipeline to the capital.
The government wants to lay the pipeline along the under-construction Kathmandu-Terai fast track that connects Kathmandu and Nijgadh of Bara, according to the officials.
Commerce Secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari says the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has sent a letter to the Ministry of Defence seeking its comments on the plan. According to the Commerce Ministry’s proposal, the Nepal Oil Corporation will bear costs of the project.
The ministry has proposed to complete the extension works by the completion of the fast track, according to him. A source at the corporation says Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is also positive about the plan.
Bigyan Raj Pandey, spokesperson for the Nepal Army which has been constructing the fast track, says the army has received a request for the feasibility study. If the government is ready and the feasibility study is positive, the army will support the pipeline extension, according to him.
