The first compressed natural gas (CNG) terminal in the world will be built near Gujarat's Bhavnagar port for an estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore by a consortium of the Mumbai-based Padmanabhan Mafatlal Group and the UK's Foresight Group, according to Financial Express.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the project. The massive CNG terminal project has a cargo handling capacity of 1.5 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA). The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), which is currently managing the Bhavnagar Port will also support the project as it would be developed using a public-private partnership (PPP) approach.
According to a senior GMB official, the upcoming CNG Terminal will have the fourth largest lock gate system in the world in addition to an ultra-modern container terminal, a multipurpose terminal, a Ro-Ro terminal, and a liquid terminal. The official added that the future brown field project will also have direct door-step connectivity to the existing roadway and railway network connecting to the largest industrial zones, the Dedicated Freight Corridor, and the northern hinterland of India.