Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the natural gas pipeline from Kerala’s Kochi to Mangaluru in Karnataka via video conferencing and said the project will have a positive impact on the economic growth in the two southern states.

"It is an honour to dedicate the 450-km pipeline to the nation. This is an important day for India, especially for people of Karnataka and Kerala. These two states are being connected by a natural gas pipeline," PM Modi said as he inaugurated the natural gas pipeline via video conferencing.
He added that the pipeline will facilitate the ease of living for lakhs of people in both the states and also give a boost to the tourism sector.

Governors and chief ministers of Karnataka and Kerala, along with Union minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas were also present as PM Modi inaugurated the pipeline project.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement the 450km long pipeline built by GAIL (India) Ltd marks an important milestone towards the creation of “One Nation One Gas Grid”. The Rs 3,000-crore project, which will carry natural gas from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Regasification Terminal at Kochi to Mangaluru, while passing through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod districts, has the transportation capacity of 12 million metric standard cubic metres per day, the statement added.

The prime minister said that the natural gas pipeline network will be doubled in five to six years. CNG stations to be raised to 10,000 from current 1,500, he added.
The total cost of the project was about Rs 3,000 crore and its construction created over 12 lakh man-days of employment. The 450-km-long pipeline has been built by Gail (India) Ltd.