First cross-border "Friendship Pipeline" opened by PM Hasina of Bangladesh and PM Narendra Modi

A Rs 377 crore pipeline to carry diesel from India to northern Bangladesh was officially opened on Saturday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladeshi Premier Sheikh Hasina, slashing costs and carbon emissions.

According to Modi, the pipeline would usher in a new era in India-Bangladesh ties.

Bangladesh now receives diesel through a 512 kilometre rail link. The 131.5-km pipeline would transport up to 1 million tonnes of diesel annually from Bangladesh to Numaligarh in Assam.

According to Modi, doing so would not only help save money on transportation expenses but also lessen the carbon imprint of transporting the gasoline.

The pipeline project's development began in 2018. It is the first energy pipeline that spans two neighbouring countries. The cost of the pipeline's Bangladesh segment, which came to Rs 285 crore overall, was covered by the Indian government as grant aid out of the project's total cost of Rs 377 crore.

One million tonnes of diesel per year (MMTPA) would be transported by the IBFPL to seven districts in northern Bangladesh.

The pipeline would connect Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation's Parbatipur depot with the Numaligarh Refinery Limited's Siliguri-based marketing terminal (BPC). The two nations' fuel transportation agreement will be in effect for 15 years, with the possibility of an additional extension with both nations' consent during later stages.