Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has opened a new diesel storage plant with a capacity of 10,000 kiloliters in Pokhara. The storage facility was inaugurated by Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies Ramesh Rijal on Sunday.

The construction of the diesel storage plant, which cost Rs 890 million, was deemed necessary due to the lack of sufficient storage facilities in the Gandaki Province. The shortage of such facilities had previously caused difficulties in fuel supply. NOC asserts that the new storage plant will effectively resolve this issue.

Umesh Thani, the managing director of NOC, considers the construction of the plant in Pokhara to be a significant milestone. He believes that it will become the third largest diesel storage plant in the region, ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted supply of diesel in the Gandaki Province. Currently, larger storage plants are located in Amlekhganj and Thankot.

Thani revealed that the addition of two 10,000-kiloliter storage plants in Pokhara will increase the diesel storage capacity to last for one month. Previously, the storage plant could only meet the diesel demand for one week.

Gandaki Province consumes approximately 467,000 liters of petroleum products daily. Currently, the NOC sells and distributes 320,000 liters of diesel and 160,000 liters of petrol in the province each day.

Considering the current daily consumption and storage conditions, the existing diesel storage can meet the demand for approximately 7 days, while the petrol storage only lasts for about 2 days.

With the new storage plant now operational, diesel storage in the province is expected to last for more than 30 days. Additionally, by converting the previous 760-kiloliter kerosene tank into a petrol tank, the storage capacity for petrol will be able to meet the demand for more than 10 days.

NOC utilized the depot's 77 acres of land to construct and upgrade the new storage plant. The project received assistance from the Institute of Storage Engineering Studies, Technical Studies of Pulchowk, Technical Consultancy of Kathmandu University, and the construction company Parallel Religier-Bharat Tanks J.V.

Furthermore, the newly built storage plant features a new access road, a 2.4-million-liter water storage tank, and a structure dedicated to drivers and security personnel. The fuel storage tanks, fire control equipment, and associated structures operate on fully automatic German technology.

The diesel load and unload facility at the new storage plant is also fully automated, employing advanced technology and modern safety measures. Each day, 32 to 40 tankers with a capacity of 20,000 liters can unload diesel. The tanker loading and unloading process is facilitated by six pumps with a capacity of 120 kiloliters per hour.

To enhance safety, four new loading/unloading bays have been constructed, and an alarm system capable of detecting temperature changes, fuel leakage, and fire has been installed at the plant.

Moreover, the storage plant boasts an integrated remote control technology that allows for the shutdown of all systems with a single switch in case of an emergency. In the event of a fire, the infrastructure has been designed to combat it continuously for approximately two hours, utilizing a combination of 70 percent water and 30 percent foam fire-fighting equipment.