The aviation turbine fuel (ATF) pipeline, built at a cost of Rs. 41 crore by Bharat Petroleum Corporation ltd. (BPCL), was inaugurated on Saturday by Minister for Finance K.M. Mani.
The pipeline will take several tankers off the roads and ensure uninterrupted fuel supply to the airport, which is now in the process of building a new international terminal. The new facility has a tankage of about 10,000 kilo litres. ATF sale at the airport is roughly 10,000 KL a year and growing at eight per cent, said a handout from BPCL.
The fuel is being pumped using the common hydrant system, which is also being used by other fuel suppliers. BPCL will invest an additional Rs. 23 crore in the system in view of the new international terminal to be built.
Mr. Mani, who declared the pipeline open, said the BPCL has had a long association with the State government and the government had returned the favour by deferring VAT payments by the company. An MoU had been signed between the government and the oil company in this regard, he said, as he invited BPCL to come up with more projects in Kerala.
Chairman and managing director of BPCL R.K. Singh, after the function, said the company’s LPG pipeline, being built at a cost of more than Rs.500 crore, awaited mandatory clearances.
