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PM Modi, Sheikh Hasina To Inaugurate India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Today: Top Points

March 18, 2023
Bharat Times

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina will jointly inaugurate the India-Bangladesh friendship diesel pipeline today. The inauguration will be done via video conference. This is the first cross-border energy pipeline between India and Bangladesh. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), PM Modi and Bangladesh PM , Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the India-Bangladesh friendship pipeline at 5 PM.

Here Are The Top Points:

  • The energy pipeline between the two nations has been built at an estimated cost of Rs 377 crore, of which the Bangladesh portion of the pipeline was built at a cost of approximately Rs 285 crore. The cost has been borne by the Indian government under grant assistance.

  • The pipeline has the capacity to transport one million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of high-speed diesel. It will supply high-speed diesel initially to seven districts in northern Bangladesh.

  • The operation of the pipeline will put in place a sustainable, reliable, cost-effective and environment-friendly mode of transporting diesel from India to Bangladesh. It will further enhance cooperation in energy security between the two countries, IANS reported citing official sources.

  • The entire pipeline is 131.5 km long. The supply of diesel will start on an experimental basis in June this year, according to a report in Hindustan Times.

  • A long-term agreement was signed in 2017 to import diesel from India to Bangladesh through the pipeline, which stretches from West Bengal’s Siliguri to a Meghna petroleum depot in Dinajpur’s Parbatipur, BDNews reported.

  • The bilateral project launched in March 2020 had an initial deadline of June 2022 that was pushed back another year due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic, the report mentioned. The pipeline stretches 125 km inside Bangladesh’s territory and 5 km inside India.

  • Previously, Bangladesh used railway carriages to import diesel from India. The two premiers also joined the ground-breaking ceremony for the IBFPL in September 2018 through video conferencing, the report mentioned. India also withdrew its objection to Dhaka building any establishment inside 150 yards of Bangladesh territory along the zero lines, Momen said.