Hasina, Modi open Bangladesh’s first cross-border pipeline

The 131-km pipeline will transport oil from Siliguri to Dinajpur’s Parbatipur

Bangladesh and India have inaugurated a 131-km pipeline to supply fuel oil from Siliguri to Dinajpur’s Parbatipur.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi opened the operation of the pipeline on Saturday through a virtual event.

"The pipeline will reduce the cost of diesel imports and time and will help ensure energy security," Hasina said in her speech, thanking India for assistance for the pipeline.

"A new chapter has begun today in India-Bangladesh relations," Modi said.

ABM Azad, chairman of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, said several successful test runs had been conducted to prepare for the inauguration.

Officials of Meghna Petroleum, which has implemented the project, said the pipeline is able to carry 4,700 tonnes of oil through its length.

The BPC depot at Parbatipur has the capacity to store 15,000 tonnes of oil. It is setting up six more tankers with a combined capacity of 29,000 tonnes.

According to the deal, India will send 200,000 tonnes of oil annually in the first three years, 300,000 tonnes per annum in the next three years, 500,000 tonnes annually in the next four years and 1 million tonnes annually afterwards.

The pipeline with India will cut transportation cost of fuel oil for Bangladesh by 50 percent, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid had said earlier.