Bangladesh is set to reach a milestone in fuel transport with the commissioning of the 250-kilometre Chattogram-Dhaka diesel pipeline in the middle of December.The launch of the first underground pipeline -- from the port city's Patenga area to Godnail and then to Fatullah on the outskirts of the capital -- is expected to save about Tk 230 crore every year in fuel transport costs, according to officials of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.

At present, diesel is transported from Chattogram to the rest of the country by river, rail and road, which causes frequent incidents of oil theft.

Besides, problems arise in fuel transportation due to the navigability crisis on waterways during the dry season. This often leads to disruption in fuel supply.

BPC is implementing the project at a cost of Tk 3,600 crore through the 24th Engineer Construction Brigade of the Bangladesh Army.

The pipeline has already gone through a hydro test with water successfully transmitted from one end of the pipeline to the other, according to Colonel Jahangir Hossain, the project director of the 24th Engineer Construction Brigade.

There are nine pumping stations in the pipeline and the equipment of the stations are being tested.

"I hope we will be able to commission the pipeline by mid-December," Hossain added.

The pipeline can transport 2.7 to 3 million metric tons of diesel annually, which can be increased to 5 million metric tons in stages.

In fiscal 2023-24, 5.4 million metric tons of fuel were transported by waterways across the country, according to BPC.

Of this, 2.7 million metric tons were transported from Chattogram to Godnail and Fatullah depots in Dhaka. Currently, 110 ships carry fuel on this route every month.

The long-awaited pipeline has two segments: a 241.28-kilometre 16-inch diameter pipeline from Patenga to Godnail depot in Narayanaganj through Feni, Cumilla, Chandpur and Munshiganj and an 8.29-kilometre 10-inch diameter pipeline from Godnail to Fatulla.

The pipeline from Patenga to Godnail has touched the bottom of 22 rivers and canals. Out of these, 10 are large rivers.

A new depot with a capacity of 21,000 metric tons has been built in Barura, Comilla.

The storage capacities at the Godnail and Fatullah depots have also been increased, said Aminul Haque, who is acting as the project director on behalf of BPC.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the 'Fuel Supply from Chattogram to Dhaka Pipeline' project at a cost of Tk 2,861.31 crore in October 2018.

After amending the development project proposal several times, the cost has now reached Tk 3,600 crore. The project implementation period has been set until December this year.

It is the second underground fuel pipeline project after the 110-kilometre Single Point Mooring (SPM) Project from the deep sea in Maheshkhali to the Eastern Refinery in Chattogram.

Although the trial transmission of the twin pipeline for diesel and crude oil was completed on February 29 and March 9 respectively this year, commercial operation has been stalled in the absence of an operator.

The SMP was built to transport fuel to the depot directly from a deep-sea mooring.

Currently, imported fuel from Chattogram Port is transported to the depot through feeder vessels.

During the previous Awami League government, the single-source tendering method was followed in appointing an operator for the SPM project, according to BPC officials.

The interim government has now started the process of appointing an operator for SPM following the open tender method.

Contacted, BPC Chairman Md. Amin ul Ahsan told The Daily Star that the current government has decided to appoint the Chinese company that built the project as the operator on a government-to-government basis.

The operator will soon start the SPM project after completing the due process, he added. News Link: Diesel to flow thru 250km Ctg-Dhaka pipeline mid-Dec