Gobinda Dev Pandey, executive chairman of Nepal Oil Corp (NOC), the government-owned monopoly petroleum products supplier, said that the pipeline and gas plants were expected to reduce transport cost, leakage, and adulteration. The Indian government will be responsible for pipeline construction from Barauni in Bihar to Raxaul, on Nepal's southern border with India. "The construction process for the pipeline and gas plants has been delayed due to the absence of the project report, although NOC and IOC (Indian Oil Corp) signed an agreement last year to lay the pipeline and establish two liquefied petroleum gas stations," Mr Pandey said recently. He said a government-level agreement was essential for carrying out construction of the pipeline because it would run through both private and government land, as well as through environmentally-sensitive forests and other zones.