The State Government will make available 50 ha for a 1,200-mw gas-based power generation facility close to the proposed LNG terminal on Puthuvype Island, said Minister for Registration S. Sarma here on Wednesday.
He was addressing a press conference here on issues related to work on LNG terminal, slated to be commissioned in 2012.
The Minister said that the land for the proposed power generation facility should be outside the Coastal Zone Regulation area as requested by Petronet LNG (PLL), which is setting up the LNG receiving and re-gasification facility.
A meeting of State Government officials with officials from PLL on Tuesday had laid bare the problems facing the construction work on LNG terminal.
One of the requests was locating a suitable plot of land for the proposed power plant, which the Minister said the Government was committed to.
Among the other points raised by the Minister was the need for speeding up the work on a permanent bridge by the Cochin Port Trust at Kalamukku, which would in turn help speed up the work on the LNG terminal.
Mr. Sarma said that work on the LNG terminal had reached another phase now and that work needed to be speeded up.
He appealed, on behalf of the State Government, to the National Highways Authority of India and Indian Railways for early granting of right of way for some stretches of the proposed pipeline to carry natural gas from Kochi terminal to Palakkad, Coimbatore, Kozhikode etc. The pipeline is being established by the Gas Authority of India Limited.
The Minister said that he would convene a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss issues related to the construction of the Puthuvype terminal later this month. This meeting would be followed by a meeting, to be chaired by Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan on the construction work.
These meetings are being organised to ensure that work on the LNG terminal is carried out efficiently and on time. Mr. Sarma pointed out that the commissioning of the LNG terminal would pave the way for the establishment of cold storages in the vicinity of the terminal and that suitable land had to be located for the purpose.
