Kochi-M'luru gas pipeline delayed again due to technical issue

Mangaluru: The Kochi-Mangaluru gas pipeline project of Gail India, which was supposed to be completed by August 10 has been further delayed due to technical issues.

The project was initially planned to be commissioned way back in 2014, however, further delayed as the concerned officials having a tough time laying the pipe across the Chandragiri river in Kasaragod and they claim that it may take 20 more days to resolve the issue.

Chandragiri River stretch is the toughest stretch in the entire 444-km long project. This 1.5 km stretch goes up to 8 meters deep in the river bed at some places for 24-inch pipes. It has an elevation difference of 148 meters, as the river flows down a deep valley, making it one of the rarest engineering projects for the entire pipeline network across the country.

Despite the project crossing as many as 96 water bodies in the south of the Chandragiri, the problem with this stretch is that the river flows down through a valley to the Arabian Sea, forcing them to drill horizontally from under the river bed.

The 444-km long natural gas pipeline was launched in 2009 at an estimated cost of Rs 2,915 crore and was to be commissioned five years from the project commencement. However, stiff opposition by political parties as well as from the public over safety and commercial issues, the project was delayed further and led to the project cost nearly doubling to Rs 5,751 crore now.

As of now, The pipeline supplies 3.8 million cubic meters of gas every day to industrial and residential customers in Kochi and is set to cross 4 million cubic meters soon in the city itself, while Mangalore has a potential of 2.5 million cubic meters per day.