Dr Manmohan Singh dedicates Kochi LNG terminal to the nation

The much delayed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal of the Petronet LNG Limited at Puthuvype, Kochi, was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on January 4, 2014. “This project has been on the anvil since the year 2005. I am aware that a lot of sustained hard work by several agencies of the Central and State Governments has gone into making it a reality. And today, after 8 years of the start of its implementation, the terminal is ready to fuel Kerala’s multifaceted development,” said Dr Singh.
 
The Rs 4,500-crore Kochi LNG terminal, which will cater to the energy requirements of industries in a diverse range of areas across the whole of Southern India, is expected to give a boost to industrial development in South India.
 
Petronet LNG has already tied up supply of 14.4 lakh tonnes of LNG per year for the Kochi terminal from the Gorgon project in Australia for a 20 year period. The company is also at an advanced stage of discussion with other LNG suppliers for long term contracts.
 
Dr Singh added, “To make full use of the large investment in this project, we need to now focus on increasing the penetration of natural gas in Kerala by augmenting the pipeline network, in a manner similar to what has been done in Northern and Western parts of the country. We also need to explore how industrial units can make greater use of natural gas.”