Planning a Least Cost Gas Pipeline Route A GIS & SDSS Integration Approach

Optimal route planning in mountainous areas is a challenging issue which requires scientific approaches and multiple criteria to be satisfied. Research identifies and evaluate the various criteria inevitable for route planning and presents a model of an automate route planning system using least cost approach. Linear features such as roads, railway, streams, and rivers have been considered as major obstacles in the course of pipeline. Reclassification of the criteria involved has been replaced by assigning the values to each hurdle using DSS (Decision Support System) approach to make the system simple, shorter and result oriented. Rank weighted method has been used to assign the weights to hurdles according to prioritization. GIS analysis incorporates the cost weighted distance function based upon cost weighted distance and cost weighted direction rasters which are further integrated with shortest path function. Topographic diversifications in mountainous areas require critical evaluation therefore slope data has been emphasized more and merged in the cost raster without assigning any Rank in criteria ranking method. Study area includes the typical mountainous terrain of Hattar, Haripur District, and Murree, Rawalpindi District, as the source and destination for pipeline route planning respectively. Result of the research is in the form of a prototype development for optimal route planning.