Rupandehi: An agreement has been signed with Kathmandu University to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the construction of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC)’s Lumbini Regional Storage Facility in Omsatiya and Rohini rural municipalities of Rupandehi. In a programme organized here today, Pradeep Yadav, Deputy Director of Corporation and Head of Storage Capacity Expansion Project, and Bibek Baral, Head of Kathmandu University (Consultancy Department), signed the agreement for the purpose.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the agreement mandates Kathmandu University to prepare the DPR within six months. NOC Deputy Director Yadav announced that construction of the depot will commence as soon as the DPR is completed, with the relocation of the depot at Bhalbari expected by November 2025. This initiative follows a previous agreement with Pulchowk Engineering Campus to develop a DPR for relocating the aviation fuel depot at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
The current Lumbini regional offic
e occupies approximately five and a half bigha of land, strategically located along the Bhairahawa-Butwal main highway. The facility includes tankers with storage capacities of 519 kiloliters of petrol, 3000 kiloliters of diesel, and 140 kiloliters of kerosene. However, the existing storage capacity is insufficient to meet the rising consumption demands, with the ability to supply only two days of petrol and five days of diesel, as informed by Deputy Director Yadav.
The Nepal Oil Corporation operates fuel storage depots across Biratnagar, Dhanusha, Birgunj, Amlekhgunj, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, and Dhangadhi, with a total petroleum product storage capacity of 60,384 kiloliters. Given Nepal’s reliance on imports for petroleum products, the corporation sources its fuel from India’s state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).