KARACHI: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday said the country's national fuel consumption is increasing every year, with the demand of gasoline witnessing an increase of 20 per cent per annum. 

The premier, laying the foundation stone of the White Oil Pipeline project at Port Qasim, added that the demand of diesel is also increasing by 12pc per annum.

Abbasi further said that the project, being built at a cost of Rs15 billion, will be completed within 20 months, expressing hope that the completion will be timely.

He said that the project is of sensitive nature, adding that by road, transportation of fuel is often dangerous. Abbasi gave an example of the Bahawalpur oil tanker tragedy, which claimed the lives of more than 200 people earlier this year.

?Worldwide, transportation of fuel takes place through pipelines,? said Abbasi.

The prime minister said that the government is trying to improve the quality of petroleum products in Pakistan.

The oil pipeline aims to transport oil at a faster speed to sustain industrial growth and a progressive agriculture sector.