PM Modi to inaugurate Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline to the nation on Tuesday via video conferencing.

According to a release of the Prime Minister`s Office (PMO), PM Modi will inaugurate Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline at 11 AM. The event will mark an important milestone towards the creation of `One Nation One Gas Grid`.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Monday. In a tweet, Mr. Modi said, “Tomorrow, 5th January is a landmark day in India’s quest for #UrjaAatmanirbharta! At 11 AM, the Kochi – Mangaluru Natural Gas Pipeline would be dedicated to the nation. This is a futuristic project that will positively impact many people.”

Governors and Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Kerala, along with Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas will also be present on the occasion.

The 450 km long pipeline has been built by GAIL (India) Ltd. It has a transportation capacity of 12 Million Metric Standard Cubic Metres per day and will carry natural gas from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Regasification Terminal at Kochi (Kerala) to Mangaluru (Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka), while passing through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod districts. The total cost of the project was about Rs. 3000 crore and its construction created over 12 lakh man-days of employment. Laying of the pipeline was an engineering challenge as the route of the pipeline necessitated it to cross water bodies at more than 100 locations. This was done through a special technique called the Horizontal Directional Drilling method.

The pipeline will supply environment-friendly and affordable fuel in the form of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to households and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to the transportation sector. It will also supply Natural Gas to commercial and industrial units across the districts along the pipeline. Consumption of cleaner fuel will help in improving air quality by curbing air pollution.