The trans-national oil pipeline between India and Bangladesh is expected to deliver the capacity of one million tonne of fuel per year. The 131 km pipeline making its way through Siliguri, West Bengal to Parbatipur, Dinajpur is slated to be operational by December 2022.

Dhaka, Bangladesh-headquartered Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), the public sector enterprise, asserts that the northern districts of the country suffer face a frequent issue of shortage of fuel since transporting the fuel from Chattogram port to Dinajpur, Rajshahi and Rangpur takes up a significant amount of time. This is purely due to the time issue and not because of the shortage of fuel, says BPC.

A transnational oil pipeline between the two neighbouring nations India and Bangladesh will mitigate these challenges. Known as the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Project (IBFPP), it would ensure an uninterrupted supply of fuel to 16 districts of the Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions in an expeditious and cost-effective manner.

Mr. Khalid Ahmed, Director (operation and planning) of BPC, told a leading newspaper that the work to lay down the pipeline is about to be complete. The transmission of oil from India would start by December this year.

The pipeline, spanning 131.57 km, would link Siliguri (West Bengal) in India to Parbatipur (Dinajpur) in
Bangladesh. The total construction cost amounting BDT (Bangladeshi Taka) 520 crore (~INR 441.23
crore), the Indian government is providing BDT 303 crore (~INR 257.10 crore) and the BPC is providing
the remaining BDT 217 crore (~INR 184.13 crore).

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From the total area of the pipeline, 126.50 km is positioned in Bangladesh while the (remove) 5.07 km
comes from India. About 125 km of pipeline under the IBFPP has been installed already, as of April 30,
2022.