The Chattogram-Dhaka pipeline started supplying fuel on Saturday, with power, energy and mineral resources adviser Muhammad Faozul Kabir Khan inaugurating the facility on the day.
Addressing the launch of Padma Oil Company鈥檚 DESPAS Terminal at Guptakhal of Patenga in Chattogram as the chief guest, the adviser said that Bangladesh must reduce wastage and corruption given its limited resources.
He said, 鈥楶roject costs in Bangladesh remain comparatively high in South Asia. Frequent delays in implementation further escalate expenses. This pipeline project itself was approved in 2018 and was supposed to be completed by 2020, but it was delayed due to the Covid pandemic and the Russia鈥慤kraine war.鈥�
鈥楤angladesh is not resource鈥憆ich. Our natural gas reserves are depleting and, except for human resources, we have little to rely on. Technological advancement is therefore essential. If we reduce corruption and wastage while adopting new technology, growth for our large population will be achievable,鈥� the adviser added.
Energy and Mineral Resources Division secretary Mohammad Saiful Islam, Bangladesh Army鈥檚 engineer鈥慽n鈥慶hief Major General Md Hasan-Uz-Zaman and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation chairman Md Amin Ul Ahsan also attended the launching event.
According to the BPC, the project was implemented by the BPC through the Bangladesh Army鈥檚 24 Engineering Construction Brigade.
The executive committee of the National Economic Council approved the Tk聽2,861 crore project in October 2018, with the completion deadline initially set for December 2020. The deadline was extended and the work was finished in March 2025, taking the final cost to Tk聽3,653 crore.
Under the scheme, a 16鈥慽nch, 241.28鈥慿ilometre underground pipeline was laid from Chattogram to Godnail of Narayanganj, and a 10鈥慽nch, 8.29鈥慿ilometre link from Godnail to Fatullah. In all, the nearly 250鈥慿m pipeline crosses 22 rivers and canals. The project includes nine stations and required acquisition of 286.88 acres of land.
To facilitate fuel supply to Dhaka through Feni, Cumilla, Chandpur and Munshiganj, a modern automated depot at Mogbari of Barura upazila in Cumilla has been built. Additional reservoirs have been installed at Siddhirganj in Narayanganj for Padma Oil and Meghna Petroleum, and at Fatullah in Narayanganj for Jamuna Oil and Meghna Petroleum.
The pipeline鈥檚 annual transport capacity is 2.7鈥�3.0 million tonnes, expandable to 5 million tonnes, with a throughput of 350 tonnes an hour.
Previously, more than 110 ships were required each month to carry fuel by river routes, costing the BPC about Tk聽326 crore annually.
With the pipeline in operation, the annual expense is projected to fall to Tk聽90 crore. Transit time from Chattogram to Narayanganj will drop from 48 hours to 12 hours, while system loss and theft are expected to decline.
A new control room at Patenga will monitor pipeline operations to ensure secure supply, officials added.
