China’s Hanas Group has received approval to build its Putian LNG import terminal in the southeastern province of Fujian.
The country’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement on Wednesday it granted the approval for the construction of the facility in the Meizhouwan port.
NDRC said the new plant would enhance the natural gas supply and storage capacity of the Fujian province and its surrounding areas.
According to NDRC, the terminal would have a capacity of 5.65 million tonnes per year and feature one jetty and two 200,000-cbm LNG storage tanks.
The total investment would reach 5.26 billion yuan ($830 million), it said.
Putian Hanas LNG, a unit of Hanas, would allocate 30 percent of the funds while the rest would come from bank loans, NDRC’s statement said.
It added that the approval is valid for two years.
Hanas’ business covers the entire natural gas and LNG industry chain, including LNG trade, production and sales, LNG terminals, and natural gas pipelines, according to its website.
Also, the firm’s natural gas unit already operates the Ningxia Yinchuan LNG plant with a capacity of about 1 million tonnes per year. It also trucks LNG via a fleet of owned vehicles.
China’s LNG imports reached 78.93 million tonnes in 2021, hitting a new record high due to rising demand from the power generation and industrial sectors.
With this, China officially became the world’s largest LNG importer, overtaking Japan.
