September 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is scheduled to inaugurate the Motihari-Amlekhgunj Petroleum Pipeline along with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

According to the Indian consulate in Birgunj, PM Oli, who returned to Nepal on Friday after treatment in Singapore, will inaugurate the pipeline from his office in Singha Durbar while Modi will simultaneously inaugurate it from New Delhi.

“All preparations for the inauguration has been made,” said Birendra Goit, spokesperson of Nepal Oil Corporation.

The pipeline was successfully tested on July 18. Indian Oil Corporation had supplied diesel from Motihari to Amlekhgunj through the pipeline then.

Nepal and India had agreed to construct the pipeline more than 15 years ago. Initially, the two governments had planned to construct the pipeline from Raxaul to Amlekhgunj. But after the IOC shifted its depot in Motihari, the pipeline was also constructed from Motihari to Amlekhgunj.

The two prime ministers had jointly inaugurated the construction of the pipeline two years ago by pressing a button from New Delhi during PM Oli’s India visit.

The pipeline built with an assistance of Rs 4.4 billion from the Indian government is 69 kilometers long. The pipeline measures 37 kilometers in the Nepali side and 32 towards the Indian side.

The pipeline can supply 200 kiloleters of petroleum product per hour, according to NOC. The state-owned oil monopoly can store 16,000 kiloleters of petrol in Amlekhgunj.

The pipeline is expected to significantly reduce leakage of petroleum products. It will save Rs 2 billion per year in transportation cost and also reduce traffic jam along the highway.