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 at 11 am on Tuesday via video conferencing.

The prime minister has said that the “futuristic project will positively impact many people.”

“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,” PM Modi said in a tweet on Monday.

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

The 450-km-long pipeline has been built by Gail (India) Ltd. The total cost of the project is pegged at about Rs 3,000 crore.

The Prime Minister’s Office had earlier issued a statement on the inauguration, saying that the event will mark an important milestone towards the creation of ‘one nation, one gas grid’.

It has transportation capacity of 12 million metric standard cubic metres per day and will carry natural gas from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal in Kochi to Mangaluru, passing through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod districts, the PMO noted.

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, the statement said, adding that the consumption of cleaner fuel will help in improving air quality by curbing air pollution.