A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for building the country’s first CNG terminal in Gujarat will be among the 100 MoUs to be signed by the ports department during the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat summit 2019, said Mukesh Kumar, Vice-Chairman and MD of Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) on Monday. Foresight Group Services Limited FZCO which is exploring the coastal areas in and around Bhavnagar district will set up this terminal.
“The Foresight Group from London who is in the CNG transport internationally wants to carry out a survey along the Bhavnagar coast for the terminal. They came a couple of weeks back,” Kumar told The Indian Express. “There is a cross-country pipeline for CNG near Bhavnagar. They also have a long term agreement with Iran for their international operations for CNG,” Kumar said, adding that the cross-country CNG pipeline is about 12 km from the Bhavnagar port.
The company has been asked to do a feasibility survey on the area. The state currently houses three LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) terminals at Dahej, Hazira and Mundra. One more LNG terminal is currently under construction at Chhara port and an FSRU (Floating Storage and Regassification Unit) is being built at Jafrabad. Addressing mediapersons, Kumar listed some other investments slated to happen during the summit, which include development of an offshore, captive crude import facility off the Mandvi coast in Kutch district by HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd.
“This will be the first land-locked state to build a port facility anywhere in India,” Kumar said. Apart from this, JM Baxi and Co. will sign a MoU to develop a cruise terminal for operating cruise liners off the coast of Diu, Dwarka, Veraval and Porbandar. Among other investments will be an agreement for a command and control system at Kandla for oil spill response on the coast of Gujarat by Oil Spill Combat Team LLP.
