The long awaited Kochi LPG import terminal will soon become a reality, with the Cochin Port Trust entrusting the jetty construction works to a private firm.

The ₹217.33-crore work has been awarded to RKEC Projects Private Limited, Visakhapatnam, to set up a Multi User Liquid Terminal (MULT) to enable super gas tankers to anchor at the jetty at Puthuvypeen.

Port supervision

The construction work will be under the supervision of the port on behalf of Indian Oil Corporation and is expected to be completed within two years.

MULT is to facilitate mainly the import of LPG by IOC which will do away with the present method of importing through Mangaluru Port and supply to various destinations in Kerala by long road haulage. The terminal is likely to import 6 lakh tonnes of LPG annually in the initial stage.

The MULT project was awarded to IOCL on nomination basis in March 2013, and a concession agreement was executed on April this year. In addition to LPG, the terminal will be used to handle bunkers and other liquids under the supervision of the port.

The work consists of construction of a terminal having a 230 meters long berth for handling LPG and petroleum products for ₹182.76 crore and a barge berth for handling bunkers for ₹34.57 crore.

Meanwhile, a senior official in IOC told BusinessLine that they have received approval from the Board to revise the project cost of the integrated LPG import terminal to ₹714 crore from the earlier ₹607 crore.

The facility, scheduled to be commissioned by 2017, will meet LPG requirements of Kerala and neighbouring States.

The commissioning of the terminal is likely to end Kerala’s dependence on tanker lorries for LPG movement through roads, which has become a major concern in the wake of frequent accidents.

There are also plans to connect IOC’s Udayamperur LPG bottling plant with the new import terminal as well as from to BPCL-Kochi Refinery through pipelines, the official added.

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