India has announced that it will build a high speed cross border diesel pipeline from Siliguri in West Bengal to Parbatipur in northern Bangladesh.

The pipeline will run approximately 516 km.

While construction of the pipeline takes place, high speed diesel will be transported from Assam’s Numaligarh Refinery to Bangladesh via rail and one such consignment will be flagged off by the two prime ministers when they meet on 8 April in Dehli.

The neighbouring countries are also contemplating building a gas pipeline. State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) are discussing tefthe 6,900-km pipeline that is proposed to link Chittagong in Bangladesh and Sitwe in Myanmar with India’s northeastern states.

The pipeline project is part of the government’s Hydrocarbon Vision-2030 for the northeastern region. A joint LPG plant is planned at Chittagong from where the gas will be piped to the northeastern region.