Sri Lanka approves Chinese-led LNG terminal development

Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment approved a $500 million investment in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant to be developed in Hambantota by China Machinery Energy Corporation. 

A total of $1 billion worth of projects was approved by the Sri Lanka government agency during the first quarter of the year, Reuters reports, citing the country’s development strategies minister Malik Samarawickrama.

The largest of the approved projects is the LNG terminal to be built in an industrial zone in Hambantota where CMEC operates a port on a 99-year lease.

In September last year, Sri Lanka approved the development of a $250 million LNG import terminal near Colombo with Indian and Japanese companies to help deal with the country’s growing energy demand.

India’s largest importer Petronet LNG is the Indian company that will take part in the development of the facility.

In January this year, Sri Lanka received a bid from the South Korean SK E&S Company to build an LNG import terminal that would include a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).