Nepal has proposed supplying cooking gas (LPG) through a cross-border pipeline with India and has sought India’s assistance in relocating the Nepal Oil Corporation’s aviation fuel depot currently located at Sinamangal, Kathmandu.
The proposals were presented at the fifth meeting of the Nepal–India Petroleum and Gas Joint Working Group, held in New Delhi on December 8, according to Shivarām Pokharel, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, who led the Nepali delegation.
Nepal is currently importing petroleum products through pipelines. Diesel imports via pipeline began in 2019, and preparations are underway to import petrol and kerosene through the same system within this year. Nepal has proposed expanding this arrangement to include LPG as well.
Nepal has also requested India’s support for relocating the aviation fuel depot at Sinamangal. An agreement between the two countries to import aviation fuel via pipeline had already been reached a year ago, and further discussions on this matter were held during the meeting.
The government has already decided to remove the existing depot located near Tribhuvan International Airport. Nepal Oil Corporation has initiated the process of constructing a new aviation fuel depot at Guhyeshwari and plans to shift the existing facility there. Nepal has sought India’s cooperation for this project.
For supplying aviation fuel through a pipeline, the construction of a new pipeline from Amlekhganj to Lothar must be completed. Work on this pipeline began a few months ago. The government also plans to build an aviation fuel storage facility in Lothar, Chitwan. As per last year’s agreement, aviation fuel will be imported through the extended Amlekhganj–Lothar pipeline.
“The meeting primarily agreed to accelerate ongoing petroleum pipeline projects and facilitate their implementation,” Pokharel said. “Since an understanding on importing aviation fuel through a pipeline was already reached last year, this meeting focused on fast-tracking the process.”
Currently, petroleum pipeline expansion works are underway from Siliguri to Charali in Jhapa and from Amlekhganj in Bara to Lothar in Chitwan. The meeting agreed to expedite construction, resolve implementation-related obstacles, and bring the pipeline projects into operation.
According to Nepal Oil Corporation, the Siliguri–Charali pipeline will be 50 kilometers long, with 35 kilometers in Nepal and 15 kilometers in India. Similarly, the 62-kilometer-long Amlekhganj–Lothar pipeline is targeted for completion within three years.
