India has approved $774 million in federal support for a natural gas pipeline in the country’s northeast, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced.
The 1,656 km (1,029 mile) long pipeline is part of India’s national gas grid and is expected to be completed in 2023.
The gas grid will link the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
Pradhan stated that the project will cost as much as 92.65 billion rupees (approximate $1.30 billion).
Pradhan has also said that the pipeline “will help in providing uninterrupted supply of natural gas to the people of eight states of the Northeast region and help develop an industrial climate without impacting the environment [and]... boost job opportunities and further spur economic growth in the region.”
