ONGC has refused to move a portion of the Bassien pipeline near Surat, forcing Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to scout for a new location for its Rs 3,000 crore port project.
GMB, Gujarat's port regulator, plans to set up a petroleum port having facilities like single buoy mooring to import and export crude oil at Vansi Borsi, about 30 km south of Surat. GMB had awarded the Letter of Intent (LoI) to Chennai based Creative, an infrastructure firm, to start work on developing this port last year.
A big structure coming up near the port is likely to exert a lot of pressure on the pipeline. While this sub-sea pipeline is around 500 mtrs from the coast, GMB will have to reclaim a lot of land from sea. According to sources, shifting the pipeline will further requires permissions from various government departments and can lead to cost escalation for ONGC.
Source : ProjectsToday
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