Just a little more than a year after India-Nepal operationalized its first cross-border petroleum pipeline in September last year, the two countries are now set to start the construction of the second Siliguri-Charaali pipeline, reported The Himalayan Times.

The India-funded pipeline will start from Siliguri, the strategic 'Chicken Neck' corridor in West Bengal, and will connect Charaali in Nepal. The 50 km long pipeline, 35 km of which lies in India and the remain 15 km in Nepal, will significantly reduce the logistics cost for petroleum products in Nepal. 

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), in cooperation with Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), is constructing the pipeline. According to a report in The Himalayan Times, the Nepal government had procured around 3.07 hectares of land in Charaali in 2016 to build storage infrastructure there.

The Depot in Charaali will have a storage capacity of 40,000 kilolitres of petroleum there. The preliminary survey of the project has been completed,  Birendra Kumar Goit, the coordinator of the joint team, was quoted as saying by Republica. 

India is the only source of petroleum products for landlocked Nepal. This is the second cross-border pipeline in the South Asia region to be constructed between India and Nepal. In September 2019, Indian Prime Minister Modi and Nepal’s KP Sharma Oli jointly inaugurated the first India-funded t Motihari-Amlekhganj Pipeline.

India has stepped its efforts to develop oil pipelines in order to increase its strategic influence in a region where China is increasing its footprints. China is also developing a rail link to connect Nepal to its Tibet region. The first India-Nepal pipeline was constructed in a record time of just 15 months, much earlier than its estimated deadline.

Over the past few years, China has also stepped up its infrastructural assistance to Nepal, leading New-Delhi to change its previously lackluster attitude when it comes to the implementation of developmental projects.