SYDNEY, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Australia's east coast is set to receive a 250 million Australian (175 million U.S.) dollar Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in the city of Port Kembla, 93 km south of Sydney.
With planning approval granted to the consortium Australian Industrial Energy on Monday by the New South Wales State Government, the terminal will include a new berth to accommodate LNG carriers, a floating gas-handling facility, an array of wharf infrastructure and a pipeline that connects to existing Aussie gas networks.
"Cost of living is a huge burden on households across this state, and today's announcement is another step towards easing that burden by potentially lowering household gas bills in the future," Deputy Premier of NSW John Barilaro said.
"This terminal will make the state of NSW more self-sufficient when it comes to energy, and will create greater access to the global gas market."
At the moment, the State of NSW relies on the rest of Australia for around 95 percent of gas supply.
But according to Matt Kean, the State's minister for Energy and Environment, the new Port Kembla Gas Terminal will help NSW ensure a much greater level of energy security.
"This terminal could supply 70 percent of our state's annual gas demand and help ease the cost of energy bills for NSW families and small business owners," he explained.
"The approval for the Port Kembla gas terminal is great news for more than 33,000 NSW businesses and a million households that already depend on natural gas," Kean said.
"It could also support gas-fired electricity generation in NSW and help make sure we have reliable electricity even when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing."
Set to provide around 150 jobs during construction and up to 50 positions for ongoing plant operations, the project is expected to be completed before the end of 2020.
