India and Nepal jointly inaugurated the first-ever cross-border petroleum products pipeline in South Asia, the Motihari-Amlekhganj (Nepal) petroleum product pipeline on Tuesday.

The inauguration was jointly done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli via video conferencing.

The Motihari-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline will help the landlocked Himalayan nation to meet its energy demands and reduce the cost of fuel transportation.

Addressing the historic event, PM Modi said, “It is a matter of great satisfaction that the first cross-border petroleum pipeline of South Asia has been completed in record time”. “It was ready in half the time than expected,” he added.

The Prime Minister gave the credit for the pipeline to the Nepal PM, the support of the Government of Nepal and joint efforts of both the nations.

“After the devastating earthquake in 2015 when Nepal took up the reconstruction, India extended its hand for cooperation as a neighbour and a close friend. I am happy that due to our joint cooperation. houses have been built again in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts of Nepal,” PM Modi said during the joint inauguration ceremony.

Government officials in Nepal say the over 60-km long petroleum pipeline will now be used to supply diesel from Bihar’s Motihari city in the first phase. The government has made necessary arrangement for the Nepal Army to provide security to the pipeline on their side of the border.

Currently, tankers carry petroleum products from India to Nepal as part of an arrangement which is in place since 1973.

The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) hopes to save Rs. 2 billion annually in freight of petroleum products. It is also expected to save millions of rupees extra by reducing the leakage of petroleum products, Myrepublica reported.

The Motihari-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline project was first proposed in 1996. However, the project finally edged closer to reality during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Kathmandu in 2014.

The two governments had inked an agreement to execute the project in August 2015. However, the project construction was delayed following the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and supply obstruction along the southern border. The project construction works finally began in April last year.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted that this India-Nepal energy project was a symbol of close bilateral relations. “It will help to enhance the energy security of the region and substantially cut down on transit costs,” he further said.