October 7, 2026: Under the National Priority Amlekhgunj-Lothar Petroleum Pipeline Project, 'land filling' and outer wall construction are currently in full swing at Lothar in Rapti Municipality-1, Chitwan. Project Chief and Nepal Oil Corporation Director Pradeep Kumar Yadav informed that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) work for the project is also in its final stages along with land management. 

Under the project, a state-of-the-art green field terminal with modern facilities will be constructed on approximately 23 bigha, 12 kattha of land in Lothar, Rapti Municipality-1. Petroleum products will be pumped from the pump house at Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)'s Motihari depot directly to Lothar through the pipeline. A 10.75-inch pipeline will be laid for approximately 62 kilometers from Amlekhgunj to Lothar. 

The corporation is currently bringing petroleum products from India's Motihari to Amlekhgunj in Bara via pipeline. The plan is to extend the same pipeline from Amlekhgunj to Lothar. Chief Yadav informed that the mapping of the pipeline has already been completed. The pipeline will be laid parallel to the East-West Highway. The corporation has stated that coordination has already been done with the Department of Roads for this. 

The design has been finalized to lay the pipeline by bypassing Hetauda market. "When coming from Amlekhgunj, the pipeline will pass through the middle of the river before Ratamate, and after crossing Hetauda market, it will emerge near the Rapti bridge. The pipeline will not go through Hetauda market," he said, "Work is being done to complete the project within the stipulated time." The target is to complete the project construction and bring it into operation within the next three years.

The corporation has stated that oil can be supplied to Lothar at a speed of 273 kiloliters per hour through the pipeline. A total of 3200 kiloliters of fuel will be stored regularly in the 62-kilometer-long pipeline at any given time. Deputy General Manager of the Corporation, Rishiram Sharma, said that the work of land leveling, constructing the outer wall, and preliminary preparations for project construction are in full swing at the project construction site. Once the land is ready, the corporation will hand over the construction of storage facilities and other structures to IOC. 

The contract for land filling and outer wall construction has been awarded to Motidan Construction. Contractor company representative Krishna Ghorasaini informed that the work of collecting and bringing the necessary raw materials for land filling is underway. The company started work in August. Motidan Construction has received the contract for land filling and outer wall construction at the project site for approximately Rs 790 million. 

(Source: Ratopati)