The Hindu Business Line : IHI will begin Petronet’s terminal construction in Feb

Kochi, Oct. 4 The Japanese company Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI), the lowest bidder for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the PLL’s LNG terminal here, would begin piling work for the construction of tanks in February 2008.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Prasad Dasgupta, Managing Director, Petronet LNG Ltd, said the IHI was the L-1 bidder with lowest quote and hence the EPC contract would be formally awarded to it soon. It has been delayed because of the requirement of raising the ground level at the terminal site in the Puthuvypeen island in Kochi by three metres, which has become an additional cost necessitating further negotiations with the contractor, he said.

Besides being the L-1 bidder, IHI has long association with PLL by constructing its Dahej terminal and its expansion now, he said.

He said that one million cu.m. of soil has to be brought in to raise the ground and 50 trucks are daily engaged in transporting to soil from identified sources. Besides, the boundary wall has collapsed in sea erosion requiring reconstruction by 15-metre piling and raising columns, he said.

All the bottlenecks, including the concession agreement with the Shipping Ministry, had been removed and the project was progressing well and it would be commissioned by June- September 2011. The total cost of the project might touch Rs 3,000 crore, he said.

However, he said, a new bridge across a canal has to be constructed by the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) for taking heavy equipment to the site. When contacted, the CPT Chief Engineer, Mr Karthikeyan, told Business Line that for constructing the referred bridge work order was being placed.

According to him, the CPT would see that there won’t be any problem to take the heavy machineries to the site. There is already an existing road to the site and the BPCL-KRL has taken this route to transport heavy equipment for implementing its single point mooring project, which is scheduled for commissioning next month.

Gas supply

On the supply of gas, Mr Dasgupta said all the commercial negotiations with the Australian consortium Gorgan have been completed for supply of 2.5 million tonnes of LNG for 25 years at the Kochi terminal.

As the start up from this consortium would be from 2012-2013, PLL is negotiating with other suppliers such as Qatar, Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria to make available LNG by the time of commissioning of the terminal here. Besides, he said, new LNG production capacity is coming up in other countries also.

PLL has already entered into agreements with Ras Gas, Qatar for supply of 2.5 million tonnes of LNG by 2009. The total supply contract at present is for 6.5 mt per annum. All the contracts are with the flexibility to supply the gas at any of the PLL terminals in the country, he added.

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