Parallel Power: The Mumbai–Nagpur Natural Gas Pipeline

GAIL (India) Ltd has successfully completed the Mumbai–Nagpur Natural Gas Pipeline (MNPL), a 694-kilometre trunk pipeline built largely within a narrow three-metre-wide utility corridor along Maharashtra’s Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway. The project represents India’s first large-scale integration of a high-capacity gas pipeline within a dense transportation corridor under the PM GatiShakti framework.

Covering 675 km of the expressway alignment, the pipeline posed significant engineering and logistical challenges. Unlike conventional gas pipelines that require a workspace of 20–30 metres, GAIL installed a 24-inch high-capacity pipeline within a corridor comparable in width to a footpath. This required close coordination with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which is executing the expressway construction across multiple project packages.

According to officials, around 96% of the pipeline has been laid within the constrained three-metre utility strip, a factor that strongly influenced the project’s design, construction methodology, and execution planning.

Designed with a capacity of 16.5 million standard cubic metres per day and equipped with bi-directional flow capability, the MNPL is nearing full operational readiness. The pipeline is expected to significantly strengthen Maharashtra’s gas infrastructure while supporting India’s broader energy transition objectives.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.