New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS): The government on Wednesday approved tripling the capacity of Numaligarh Refinery in Assam and setting up of oil and product pipelines at a cost of Rs 22,594 crore, so as to meet the demands for petroleum products in the Northeast.

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a project to expand the capacity of Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) from 3 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) to 9 MMTPA. The project will take four years to complete," Union Minister Piyush Goyal said.

The total project cost of Rs 22,594 crore will be financed by a mix of debt, equity and Viability Gap Funding (VGF), the Minister said.

The debt of Rs 15,102 crore will be raised by NRL and apart from its internal accrual of Rs 2,307 crore, the promoters, namely, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Oil India Ltd and Government of Assam will contribute to the equity, he said.

"The project will be supported by viability gap funding of Rs 1,020 crore from the government of India," Goyal said.

Besides, the Cabinet also approved setting up of crude oil pipeline from Paradip to Numaligarh and product pipeline from Numaligarh to Siliguri.

"The expansion of the refinery will meet the deficit of petroleum products in the Northeast. It will generate direct and indirect employment in the region and is a part of the government's Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for the Northeast," Goyal said.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, in a statement, said the project will also sustain the operations of all Northeast refineries by augmenting their crude availability.