The new 80,000 metric tonne capacity cavern coming up in Mangaluru at cost of ₹854 crore is a safe storage facility, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) officials told members of visiting Karnataka Legislative Council Assurance Committee headed by B.M. Farooq in Mangaluru on Thursday.
Answering concerns of the committee members about safety of the new cavern, HPCL General Manager (Projects) Ramana Murthy said the new cavern is being constructed in a way that there will be no damage to it either by natural calamity or from external aggression. Measures have been taken to ensure that there will be no damage to ecology of the area too, he said.
“Storage is better in cavern and it is also safe,” Mr. Murthy said and added that the design of the new cavern is similar to the one in Vishakapatnam, which is working well. Construction of the new cavern is likely to be completed by June 2024.
Mr. Murthy told the committee members that construction of cavern is part of the effort to increase LPG storage capacity at the HPCL LPG Import Facility in Mangaluru to 5.42 million metric tonnes by 2040 and meet the rising demand of LPG. Presently, the storage capacity at the LPG Import Facility is at 25,200 metric tonnes. LPG from this facility was being sent by road and also through pipeline to different parts of the State. Line walkers are employed and other safety mechanisms have been put in place to prevent leakage of LPG from the pipeline, he said.
Earlier, the committee members visited the road connecting the MSEZ from Kuloor bridge, which is proposed to be widened.
Principal Secretary to the Department of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, Salma K. Fahim; Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner M.P. Mullai Muhilan, District Health and Family Welfare Officer, M. Kishore Kumar, Chief Fire Officer G. Thippeswamy, Senior Environment Officer Karnataka State Pollution Control Board Vijaya Hegde, accompanied the committee members.
COMMents
SHARE