Construction work on the onshore LNG terminal, coming up at Puthuvype, near here will be completed by December, next year.
The terminal with an initial capacity to handle 1 million tonnes of LNG will be operational by March 2012.
The latest time schedule was approved at a high-level meeting here, chaired by TKA Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. It was also also attended by shipping ministry secretary K Mohandas, who reviewed the progress of the work.
The LNG project is being built by Petronet LNG Ltd at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. GAIL will lay the pipelines, which also expected to cost Rs 4,000 crore.
The Cochin Port Trust (CPT) will initiate steps to allot additional land for setting up a 1,250 Mw capacity power plant at Puthuvype. Together with down-stream projects of the LNG terminal, the total cost of the project is expected to be Rs 16,000 crore.
The gas will be imported from various countries like Australia and Qatar. There is also a proposal to distribute LNG in Kochi city through pipelines.
On the International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vallarapdam, Mohandas said it would be operational by April 2010. There is widespread apprehension over the progress of the work due to the current issues in Dubai World (DW). Dubai Port World, an associate of DW is the overseas partner of the Vallarpadam terminal project. He said that both the projects, Container terminal and LNG terminal, would be completed within the scheduled time.
The review meeting also decided to finalise technical specifications of the pipelines to enable the expansion of the 350 Mw NTPC plant at Kayamkulam by 1,050 Mw with a further provision of an increase by 25 percent.
GAIL will also facilitate supply of gas to FACT plants at Udyogamandal and Ambalamedu as well as to the KSEB power plant at Brahamapuram. NTPC has decided to set up its own water desalination plant at Kayamkulam.
