PLL to invest Rs 900 crore in Dahej

Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL), which has commissioned its liquefied natural gas terminal at Dahej in south Gujarat, will invest an additional Rs 900 crore over the next 32 months in doubling the capacity of the terminal from 5 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) to ten MMTPA.

The proposal will be put before the board of directors within the next 45 days.

PLL chief executive officer and managing director S C Mathur said the expansion will be completed over the next 32 months and this will effectively double capacity of the company's Dahej terminal.

"The approval of the board for the expansion will be sought in the next 45 days," he said. Mathur was in Ahmedabad on Sunday to participate in the opening of the Ahmedabad despatch centre.

"At present, over 70 per cent of the gas that we receive at the LNG terminal is supplied to Gujarat. Although we will increase our capacity, we will provide whatever amount of gas that Gujarat requires," said Mathur.

He said this even as the government made it clear at Sunday's function that it plans to purchase gas from Shell Hazira too, provided the pricing is good. Shell is at present constructing an LNG terminal at Hazira, near Surat, in south Gujarat.

Mathur lauded Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPC) for completing the Vadodara-Kalol section of the gas grid pipeline in one year.

"Development of gas infrastructure has benefited everyone, including user industries. Even the Dahej tap-off was completed by GSPC in record time," he said.

He said the Dahej terminal was completed by PLL in record time of 36 months even as the experience worldwide is that it takes about 42 months to complete a terminal and commission it fully.

PLL was looking towards a mutually beneficial relationship with GSPC even as it was quickly expanding its gas network, Mathur said.