India, Nepal inaugurate FIRST EVER cross-border pipeline in South Asia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart K P Sharma Oli on Tuesday jointly inaugurated the Motihari-Amlekhganj petroleum product pipeline via a video link.
The over 60 km-long pipeline is the first-ever cross-border petroleum product pipeline in the South Asia region, according to a video presentation made before the inauguration.
As of now, tankers carry petroleum products from India to Nepal as part of an arrangement which is in place since 1973.
"This India-Nepal energy cooperation project is a symbol of our close bilateral relations. It will help to enhance the energy security of the region and substantially cut down on transit costs," the Prime Minister's Office had said on Monday.
The Motihari-Amlekhganj was first proposed in 1996. However, the project finally edged closer to reality during Modi's visit to Kathmandu in 2014.
India has invested Rs. 3.5 billion to install the pipeline. Modi and Oli had jointly laid the foundation stone for the project at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi during Oli's visit to Indian last year.
(With PTI and ANI inputs)
