Gail (India) has completed the Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada-Secunderabad LPG pipeline construction work ahead of the schedule date of September 2003.

Gail started laying of the 600-km long pipeline in May 2002, and completed it by June 2003. The pipeline originates from dispatch/ booster station in Visakhapatnam and passes through five districts of Andhra Pradesh and terminates at Cherlapalli in Secunderabad.

In addition to this pipeline, construction of dispatch station at Visakhapatnam and receiving stations at Vijayawada and Secunderabad is also completed. Testing of the pipeline has also been completed.

The pipeline will receive LPG from the import terminal of HPCL and East India Petroleum (a private terminal operator.) East India terminal will provide 0.914 million tonnes of LPG per annum, while the HPCL refinery will contribute 0.25 million tonnes per annum to this pipeline system. East India Petroleum is a private sector LPG supplier.

Gail has spent Rs.500 crore to lay the pipeline. It has a capacity to transport 1.164 million tonnes  of LPG per year and delivering LPG equivalent to 2.5 lakh cylinders per day to HPCL and other oil marketing companies at Vijayawada and Secunderabad.

GAIL wants HPCL to make use of the pipeline at the earliest. Once the pipeline is operational, the LPG transportation cost will come down by 80 per cent.