Dhaka, Jan 21 (V7N) —All preparations are in place to begin fuel supply through an underground pipeline stretching from Chittagong to Dhaka starting April 1, as the Tk3,600 crore project is expected to be completed by the end of March, an official has stated.
“The 250km Chittagong-Dhaka underground network will ensure uninterrupted and secure petroleum product supply, replacing the costly and outdated existing system,” said Anupam Barua, director (Operation and Planning) of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).
The project, titled "Supply of Fuel Oil through Pipeline from Chittagong to Dhaka" is being implemented by the BPC.
This state-of-the-art automated fuel supply network is expected to save approximately Tk200 crore annually in transportation costs.
It will also enhance energy security, reduce transportation time, curb pilferage disguised as system losses, and mitigate environmental pollution.
Since independence, the majority of fuel has been transported from the main installation depots in Chittagong to other parts of the country via waterways, with a smaller portion carried by rail routes.
However, the outdated oil supply system has led to high transportation costs, significant pilferage, system losses and time delays.
According to initial estimates, the new land pipeline will transport at least 3 million tons of petroleum products annually to depots in Barura, Comilla, and Godanail-Fatullah in Narayanganj.
Eventually, its capacity can be expanded to handle up to 5 million tons per year, said Anupam Barua.
"Pipeline installation is fully completed, and 98-99% of tank station construction has been finished. Pre-commissioning activities will be completed by March 30," he added.
Sources reveal that the country’s average annual demand for fuel oil is around 7 million tons.
Of this, approximately 3 million tons are consumed in the Dhaka division, with most transported by 200 oil tankers from the Guptakhal depot in Patenga to depots in Chandpur, Godanail and Fatullah via waterways.
From there, the fuel is transported by road, with some also carried by railway wagons.
The pipeline construction project was initially conceptualized in 2015, with Ecnec approval granted in October 2016.
The initial budget was set at Tk2,861.31 crore, with a completion target of June 30, 2020.
However, implementation complexities led to delays, prompting the government to hand over the project to the 24th Engineering Construction Brigade of the Bangladesh Army, under the supervision of Padma Oil Company, a subsidiary of BPC.
Budget revisions and extended deadlines increased the project cost by Tk800 crore, bringing the total to Tk3,600 crore.
Fuel oil has already started flowing through the pipeline on a test basis, with full-scale operations expected to commence on April 1.
So far, 241.28km of the pipeline have been installed from the Guptakhal depot in Patenga to Godanail in Narayanganj, passing through Feni, Cumilla, Chandpur and Munshiganj.
The 16-inch diameter pipeline, buried five feet underground for security and safety, is supplemented by an additional 8.29km pipeline with a 10-inch diameter connecting Godanail to Fatullah.
The entire pipeline is protected by a three-layer extruded polyethylene coating.
The route traverses the beds of 22 rivers and canals, includes nine stations, and features a new fuel depot in Comilla's Barura upazila.
As part of future expansions, BPC plans to install a 59.23km, 8-inch diameter pipeline from Comilla to Chandpur to facilitate oil distribution in the Chandpur region.
BPC sources confirmed that the supervisory control and data acquisition system for the project has been successfully implemented.
The 250km pipeline's operations will be controlled and monitored from the master control station at the Chittagong dispatch terminal, using an optical fibre cable to detect the location and nature of any potential leaks.
END/MSS/AJ
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