Future of India-Nepal oil pipeline still uncertain

NEW DELHI: The future of the proposed 100-crore oil pipeline project between India and Nepal, that would reduce fuel transportation cost by an estimated 40%, continues to be uncertain due to funding issues.

"We got to look into it. We got to find money for it. Things don't get sorted out in one meeting...give us some time," commerce secretary Rahul Khullar said after his meeting with Nepalese commerce secretary Purushottam Ojha in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The project, which would connect Indian Oil Corporation's depot in Raxaul to Amlekhgunj in Nepal, was first proposed by IOC in 1995 and approved way back in 2004 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his then Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Currently Nepal is getting petroleum products from an IOC depot in Raxaul, Bihar, Nepalese commerce secretary Purushottam Ojha told reporters.

"It is all transported by trucks. So we have that plan to connect Amlekhgunj to Raxaul as it will reduce cost. There are a lot of advantages," he said.

Although the project is likely to save 40% in transportation cost of petroleum, it is stuck as it is not clear how the estimated 100 crore is to be raised.