Essar Ports emerged the highest bidder for an LNG terminal and storage facility at Haldia port, in West Bengal. The tender was floated by the Kolkata Port authorities who run the Haldia dock complex.
Haldia being a low-draft river port, the 1 million-tonne terminal will serve as a daughter facility to sea port-based LNG terminals.
In the absence of a pipeline, LNG will be distributed in tankers to the industries in the hinterland, replacing use of costlier liquid fuel.
Other bidders for the tender were Petronet LNG and V Energy.
When contacted, an Essar spokesperson said: “As a Group, we keep looking at growth opportunities in businesses. But it is not our policy to comment on any specific proposal.”