Puttur: The Kerala Government has agreed to provide right of way for laying a gas pipeline from Kochi to Mangaluru, according to Ananth Kumar, Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister.
With this, the gas pipeline connecting Mangaluru with Kochi will be completed in the next two-and-a-half years, he said.
Speaking at the inauguration of Agri Machinery Fair 2015, organised by Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd in Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district on Saturday, he said the previous UPA government had asked three naptha-based urea manufacturers in southern India to convert to gas as the feedstock for production in 2010. However, it did not make provisions for laying gas pipelines to these urea plants.
As a result of this, three urea plants, including MCF (Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers) Ltd, had to stop production of urea in October.
The NDA Government had held two rounds of discussions with the Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, and the MPs from Kerala, asking them to provide right of way for laying the gas pipeline to Mangaluru.
They have been convinced about this, and the Kerala Government has agreed to provide right of way for laying the pipeline. It would be completed in two-and-a-half years, he said.
A gas pipeline connection to Mangaluru would also help in extending gas connections to houses in the city, Kumar said.
