Petronet's Gangavaram LNG terminal gets green nod.

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has given green clearance to Petronet's proposed liquefied natural gas terminal at Gangavaram Port in Andhra Pradesh.

Petronet LNG Ltd has proposed to develop the land-based terminal that will have facilities for receiving, storage and regasification of LNG with an initial capacity of 5 million tonnes a year. The company will develop the project in partnership with Gangavaram Port Ltd. on the east coast close to Visakhapatnam.

The project is likely to see an investment of about Rs. 4,500 crore.

The State has permitted another LNG project at Kakinada, to be anchored by GAIL India in partnership with a state corporation, Shell and GDF Suez. Both Gangavaram and Kakinada projects are expected to play a big role in reviving the stranded gas-based power plants and accelerate the growth of industries in the coastal region.

The Andhra Pradesh government, which is seeking to provide a big push for the ports sector, is also expediting the implementation of projects at Machilipatnam, Bhavanapadu and Narsapuram.

Land acquisition for Machilipatnam Port was completed by the Krishna district collector and the development of the port has been taken up. It is likely to be operational by 2017. Other ports are in the initial stages of finding bidders.

HBL