Narendra Modi, Hasina inaugurate friendship fuel pipeline in Assam

GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina on Saturday jointly inaugurated in virtual mode a 132-km-long India Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) to transport high-speed diesel from India to northern Bangladesh, cutting costs and reducing carbon footprint.
"The pipeline will start a new chapter in India-Bangladesh relations. This would not just help save on transportation costs but also reduce the carbon footprint of moving the fuel," Modi said at the inauguration. "This pipeline is especially important in the context of many developing nations struggling for fertiliser and energy security," he added. The construction of the pipeline project by Assam's Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) started in 2018. The foundation stone of the prohject was laid by the two PMs. It is the first cross-border energy pipeline between the two neighbours.
NRL, which has been supplying petroleum products to Bangladesh since 2015 but through a 512-km rail route, has already set its eyes on exporting diesel to Myanmar as a next step. This India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) will transport one million tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of diesel to seven districts in northern Bangladesh NRL's marketing terminal at Siliguri to the Parbatipur depot of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).
The fuel transport deal between the two countries will be in force for 15 years with an option for further extension during subsequent phases on the agreement of both countries. Of the total cost of Rs 377 crore of the project, Rs 285 crore of the Bangladesh section of the pipeline has been borne by the Government of India under grant assistance.
Modi said, “In the energy sector, cooperation between two nations is highly successful. Today, India is supplying more than 1,100 MW of electricity to Bangladesh.” He added that the hydrocarbon cooperation between the two nations is across the entire value chain — from upstream oil and gas exploration to midstream transportation and downstream and this pipeline will further strengthen this cooperation.
Also, the first unit of the 2x660 MW Maitree Thermal Power Project in Bagerhat district of Khulna division of Bangladesh developed under India’s concessional financing scheme and being built by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Pvt Ltd has started and the second unit would also start soon.
India and Bangladesh have been growing closer in relations as Bangladesh is quickly becoming India’s largest trading partner in South Asia. The country is the fourth biggest market for Indian exports in the world, with exports being worth USD 16 billion.
The two countries are currently in the process of formulating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which could see India’s exports to the country double to USD 32 billion in the near term