India's state-owned energy corporation, GAIL (India) Ltd., has completed the 694-kilometer Mumbai-Nagpur Natural Gas Pipeline, a project that marks India’s first major integration of high-capacity energy infrastructure into a dense transport corridor.

The pipeline, known as the MNPL, was built almost entirely within a narrow three-meter-wide utility corridor along the Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway. 

It represents a significant achievement under the national PM-GatiShakti framework, demonstrating how energy and transport infrastructure can coexist to reduce land acquisition hurdles and social impact.

According to unnamed officials, engineering the project posed unprecedented logistical challenges. 

While conventional pipelines typically require a workspace of 20 to 30 meters, GAIL installed the 24-inch high-capacity line within a strip the width of an average sidewalk. 

Officials said about 96 percent of the pipeline runs inside this narrow corridor, requiring intense coordination with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corp.

The state-owned utility faced its toughest technical hurdles in the steep terrain of the Western Ghats, particularly near Fugale hill. 

Although the regulatory approval was granted in May 2020, construction was slowed by pandemic-related disruptions and forest clearances, with final environmental approvals for a 56-kilometer stretch across 10 districts granted in April 2023.

The pipeline has a capacity of approximately 16.5 million standard cubic meters per day and features bi-directional flow capability. 

Once fully operational, it is expected to transform the energy landscape across 16 districts in Maharashtra.

The MNPL will support piped natural gas for an estimated 9.5 million households and supply fuel to more than 1,700 CNG stations. 

Planners noted the project will also bolster the power, fertilizer, and manufacturing sectors.

"The project shows how expressways can double up as utility corridors if coordination, clearances, and engineering flexibility are built in early," an official said.