Guwahati, Jan 3 (IANS): The state-owned Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam on Sunday paid first interim dividend of around Rs 122.61 crore to the state government for the current fiscal, an official statement said.

NRL Managing Director S.K. Barua handed over the dividend cheque to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in the presence of Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah and other top officials.

Assam has an equity holding of 12.35 per cent in the company.

According to the statement, the dividend was for the second quarter of the financial year till September. The final dividend would be decided at the NRL's annual general meeting after the current financial year ending on March 31.

The NRL is undertaking as Rs 949 crore plan to augment its capacity and lay 2,200 km of a crude oil pipeline from Odisha's Paradip port to Numaligarh, and a product pipeline from Numaligarh to West Bengal's Siliguri.

A senior NRL official said that the company would invest Rs 949 crore in the current financial year for its capital projects, including refinery expansion project from the current 3 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA besides laying the crude oil pipeline. The pipeline would also cater to the industrial customers in the northeastern states including NRL.

The NRL is also laying the 130 km transnational India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) from its marketing terminal in Siliguri to Parbatipur in Bangladesh.