Nepal Oil Corporation is going to build a state-of-the-art depot with storage of petroleum products for one month in Lumbini. The current depot located in the middle of the densely populated area has increased the security challenge, and after the locals warned to relocate the depot, preparations have been made to relocate the depot to Rohini and Omsatiya Rural Municipality of Rupandehi.

A detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared to build a fuel depot on 25 and a half bigha land. The Consultancy Services Department of Kathmandu University has handed over the DPR to the corporation's storage capacity enhancement project on Wednesday.

DPR is estimated to cost 5 billion 793 million 64 thousand rupees (excluding VAT). As soon as the budget is approved in August, project head Pradeep Kumar Yadav said that the construction of the state-of-the-art depot will begin as soon as the DPR is ready. He said that under the special guidance of Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supply Damodar Bhandari and Corporation Executive Director Chandika Prasad Bhatt, a fuel depot with modern facilities will be built. 

After the budget is approved, the tender evaluation and contract agreement are done by December. The target is to be able to build in three years," said Yadav in a press conference held on Wednesday, "Tenders are called on the EPC model. The depot will be prepared within the cost of DPR. The currently operational Lumbini Regional Office, Valbari (Rupandehi) is in a densely populated area. It is not able to meet the demand of petroleum products. 

The storage capacity of the depot spread over about five and a half bigha land is low. Valbari depot has a storage house with a capacity of 519 kiloliters for petrol, 3,040 kiloliters for diesel and 280 kiloliters for kerosene. 

The daily and regular trading of inflammable substances like petroleum from the depot, which is connected to the Butwal-Bhairawa main highway and is in the middle of densely populated areas, poses a security challenge. Keeping this issue in mind, the Corporation has said that DPR has been prepared in collaboration with Kathmandu University. An agreement was signed between Kathmandu University, Consultancy Services Department and Corporation's storage capacity increase project on 12th December 2081.  According to

Corporation, the newly built state-of-the-art depot will have 3 vertical tanks (total 13,500 kiloliters) that can hold 4,500 kiloliters of diesel.

4 thousand 960 kiloliters of petrol can be stored with two vertical tanks of 2 thousand 100 kiloliter capacity and one vertical  tank of 760 kiloliter capacity. 228 kiloliters of kerosene can be stored in 3 vertical tanks of 76 kiloliter capacity. The corporation says that this storage can meet the demand of Lumbini for at least 1 month. 

Two water tanks with a capacity of 2,100 kiloliters will be built inside the depot for the fire protection system. In which a total of 4,200 kiloliters of water will be stored. According to the corporation, eight bays will be constructed in the fuel loading shed and 8 bays in the unloading shed.

According to the corporation, the corporation has 11 and a half bigha of land in Rohini and Omasatiya rural municipalities. The process has already started from the Ministry of Home Affairs and District Administration Office, Rupandehi to bring the additional 8 and a half bigha land in the area into the ownership of the corporation.

In-principle approval has been received from Rohini and Omastiya Rural Municipality for the construction of a fuel depot at that location. 97 local people who are occupying waste land have given their written consent to provide necessary support and coordination for the construction of the depot.

The acquisition process of about five and a half bighas connected to the main road to the land has been started according to the Land Acquisition Act, 2034. In this way, a modern and well-equipped depot will be built in an area of ​​about 25 and a half bighas, said Yadav. Vivek Baral, head of the Kathmandu University Consultancy Services Department, said that Nepali engineers have been able to design and build infrastructure. 

"We have presented an example that DPR of big projects can be made by using indigenous people," he said. Sushil Bhattarai, former acting executive director of the corporation, says that considering the increasing consumption of petroleum products in Lumbini, it is necessary to build a new depot. Bhattarai, who is working as a petroleum expert at Kathmandu University, said that there is no option to transfer the Valbari depot quickly.