Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline to the nation on Tuesday on January 5 at 11 am through video conferencing. The much-hyped project is expected to provide cheaper and cleaner fuel to industrial, residential consumers and give a big boost to the economy.
The virtual inauguration ceremony will also be attended by the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, along with their Karnataka counterparts and Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan.
The much-delayed Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline project finally hit completion and was declared for commissioning in November last year by national energy major Gail India (GAIL). The project was initially launched in 2009 and had a target to be completed by 2014. The estimated cost of the project at the time of its launch was Rs 2,915 crore. However, several public safety concerns and land price negotiations delayed the project.
Here are few facts about the Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline project:
- The new natural gas pipeline built by Gail India stretches 450-km long.
- Due to various setbacks and delays, the project cost nearly doubled and was built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crore.
- The pipeline project created over 12 lakh man-days of employment during its construction phase.
- The pipeline passes through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod districts of Kerala and ends in the Mangaluru district of Karnataka.
- The project posed several engineering challenges as it weaved through densely populated state like Kerala and encountered tough terrains like waterlogged plain wetlands to rocky-hillock areas including water bodies.
- Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline project can transport up to 12 million metric standard cubic metres LPG per day. The transportation will take place from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) Regasification Terminal at Kochi to Mangaluru.
- The project will help in supplying piped natural gas (PNG) to households, while transportation sector will be able to avail compressed natural gas (CNG).
- Apart from clean industrial fuel, the will also give a chance to multiple gas-based industries to emerge, thus helping in creating direct and indirect job opportunities.
- The project’s first phase was commissioned in August 2013 in Kochi, Kerala. Indian Oil-Adani Gas Ltd started industrial and domestic supplies in 2016.
- It now supplies 4 million cubic metres of natural gas per day to industrial and domestic consumers in Kochi city.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here
Comments
0 comment