KOCHI: The much-delayed Kochi-Mangalore natural gas pipeline project is finally ready for commissioning any day from now as the national energy major Gail India NSE 0.64 % has completed the final 540-metre treacherous stretch across the Chandragiri river in northern Kerala, according to a senior company official.
The 444-km long natural gas pipeline was launched in 2009 at an estimated cost of Rs 2,915 crore and was to be commissioned in 2014. But opposition on safety and commercial grounds wherein the land price was the main hurdle, both from political parties and the public, ensured that the project lingered on. This led to the project cost nearly doubling to over Rs 5,750 crore.
