Crown LNG has given the go-ahead for the initial development phases of a new LNG terminal, to be located 11 km offshore Kakinada, India.

The Norwegian company has an exclusive agreement to finance, build and lease the terminal to its client KGLNG, a subsidiary of East LNG.

The new terminal, which will be exposed to harsh monsoon conditions, will have an annual regasification capacity of 7.2m tonnes and will include boil-off gas handling and fuel gas systems.

Aker Solutions will be the main contractor for the gravity-based structure, while Wärtsilä Gas Solutions has been appointed to lead the front-end engineering and design (FEED) stage of the project.

The final investment decision for the project is expected in 2022 with the terminal set to fully operational approximately three years later.