Motihari-Amlekhganj pipeline

Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline is a 69 km (43 mi) long trans-border petrolium pipeline between Amlekhgunj Oil Depot in Parsa of Nepal and Motihari of India. This pipeline transports petroleum from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).^[1] It is also the first ever trans-national pipeline in the Indian subcontinent.^[2] It has an annual capacity of two million metric tonn.^[3]

Motihari-Amlekhganj Oil Pipeline
Location
Country	India, Nepal
General direction	South–North
From	Motihari
To	Amlekhganj
General information
Type	Oil Pipeline
Partners	Indian Oil Corporation Nepal Oil Corporation
Technical information
Length	69 km (43 mi)
Maximum discharge	2 million tonnes per year

Motihari-Amlekhganj pipeline

30km
19miles

Amlekhgunj

Raxaul

Motihari

   

Pipeline route

History

The pipeline was first proposed in 1996.^[4] An agreement was reached between the NOC and IOC in 2004.^[5] The project finally was set for construction after the visit of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to Kathmandu in 2014. Both governments inked an agreement to execute the project in August 2015. However, the project construction was delayed due to the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and supply obstruction along the southern border. The project construction works finally began in April 2018 and were completed in April 2020. The pipeline was jointly inaugurated by the Prime ministers of India and Nepal on 10 September 2019.^[6][7]

The pipeline displaces the need to carry petroleum products from India to Nepal by tankers that was done since 1973. The pipeline is expected to save NPR 2 billion annually on transportation.^[4]

The project was constructed in 15 months, though the actual duration allocated was 30 months.^[2]

Features of pipeline

• 32.25 km (20.04 mi) of the pipeline lies in Indian territory (from Raxaul to Motihari) and the 37.25 km (23.15 mi) in Nepal from Raxaul to Amlekhgunj^[5]
• About 6,500 large trees and about 4,000 small trees were cut off in the Parsa National Park area for the construction of the pipeline.^[5]