Nepal’s state-owned oil company, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), has proposed plans to increase its fuel storage capacity to 415,000 kilolitres, from the current 72,000 kilolitres, in seven provinces and other strategic locations at a total cost of NPR 28 billion (USD 257.2 million) within five years.

Considering rising demand for petroleum products in the capital city of Kathmandu, NOC has planned to develop a fuel storage facility with capacity of around 70,000 kilolitres in the Valley. It also has a long-term plan to install a pipeline from Raxaul to Amlekhgunj.

“We can install the pipeline from Pathlaiya (Bara) to Kathmandu along the proposed fast track,” said NOC Managing Director Gopal Bahadur Khadka.

Boosting NOC’s fuel storage capacity is considered a priority by the government, following the fuel shortage that occurred as a result of the blockade of its border with India, halting fuel supply from India into Nepal. Minister for Supply Deepak Bohara has been asked to expedite the storage facility expansion plan to end Nepal’s perennial problem being a landlocked country. The country is also exploring importing fuel from China as well.