Gandhinagar Sep 15 (IANS): The Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Tuesday said Bhavnagar will become the first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) terminal in the world, as the government has given its sanction to the Rs 1,900 crore brownfield project.

The terminal will have a capacity of 15 lakh tons annually.

He said the state government has given the sanction and the Rs 1,900 crore project and will be developed by a Consortium of developers, including the Padmanabh Mafatlal Group and one from the Netherlands.

According to the information given by the government, Rs 1,300 will be invested in the first phase of the brownfield port project. The project is a part of an ambitious mega project of developing Bhavnagar, where a liquid cargo terminal having a capacity of 45 lakh Container and White cargo terminal and RO RO ferry services terminal, would be developed.

To develop this terminal, dredging and construction of two lock gates will be carried out in the channel and port basin. Infrastructural facilities will be set up on the shore for CNG transportation. Due to the project, Bhavnagar port's annual cargo capacity will be raised to nine million metric tons (MMT).

The Chief Minister informed that Gujarat will be the only state in the country, which will have terminals for both CNG and LNG (with LNG terminals at Dahej and Hazira).

According to the state government, the project will create vast employment opportunities for Bhavnagar and adjoining area youth in logistics, transportation and warehousing.