The first-ever petroleum pipeline from the southeastern port city of Chattogram to the capital Dhaka will be operational from Saturday, a ministry official said on Friday.
The officials said authorities of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) are preparing to make operational the 250-kilometre-long oil pipeline from 16 August, as its construction works were completed with the help of army sappers at a cost of about Tk 3,700 crore.
The state-run corporation will be in charge of operating and maintaining the pipeline, according to the officials.
Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan is expected to inaugurate the pipeline as the chief guest from the Chattogram point at around 11am.
According to the project details, the transportation of oil in petroleum tankers used to cause system losses twice during the loading and unloading process. From now on, the pipeline will minimize the scope for pollution.
It said a 16-inch diameter pipe was installed along 241 kilometres from Patenga to Godnail in Narayanganj, while a depot was installed at Fatullah, 8.29 kilometres off Godnail, through a separate 10-inch diameter pipeline.
The underground pipeline passes beneath 22 rivers and canals, while nine pumping stations were built in the entire system.
A previous such pipeline, called the Bangladesh-India Maitree Pipeline, was built from India to Bangladesh to import diesel.
BPC officials said they are now also building another pipeline to unload crude oil from the sea.
According to BPC officials, oil tankers used to take at least 24 hours to transport petroleum from the port city to the river port of Narayanganj, while the pipeline will transport the oil in just four hours.
Currently, BPC spends Tk 326 crore every year on transporting oil from Chattogram to Dhaka by oil tanker. But once the pipeline is operational, the cost will be Tk 90 crore, saving at least Tk 226 crore annually.
The pipeline will prevent pilferage and theft of oil, the officials stated.
Authorities sometimes experienced problems in transporting fuel oil due to inclement weather, resulting in supply interruptions, while the pipeline will solve the problem.
The project was implemented by the 24 Engineer Construction Brigade-Bangladesh Army installing the computerized Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to monitor and control the transportation processes.
The trial operation of the pipeline was held on 24 June.
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