KARACHI, Jan 31: Progas Pakistan, formerly known as Keloil Pakistan is building Pakistan’s first fully integrated LPG operation at Port Qasim.

Progas on Friday briefed the PQA Board on the proposed investment in LPG handling and storage facilities.

This will include a dedicated LPG import terminal to be built on BOT basis, besides pressurized storage of 6,500 tons and a state of the art fully automatic filling operation supplied by KOSAN CRISPLANT.

Progas Pakistan is a joint venture company owned by the Kelantan State Economic Development Corporation and KUB Malaysia Berhad, a multinational conglomerate public listed company in Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange and Sterling Ventures international Limited of the UK.

The scope of work will include building of an import terminal which will handle LPG including a jetty, trestle and pipe-rack, which will carry the product offshore to pressurized storage facility.

In the first phase, Progas Pakistan is installing 2000 tons storage and a filling operation, which will be launched by August 2003.

Co-jointly work will commence on the jetty as part of phase-II which will also include the extension of a further 4,500 tons of pressurized storage. This phase will be operational by December 2004.

The third phase will include the extension of jetty capacity and building of a trestle and a refrigerated storage facility. The jetty has been designed to handle vessels from 1,500 to 50,000 DWT.

The project cost is estimated at 31 million dollars of which the terminal and offshore operation will cost about 20 million dollars

With the implementation of this project the importation and the storage capability of LPG in Pakistan will increase from 80,000 tons to 250,000 tons per annum.

The construction of this facility will allow the importation of LPG at cheaper rates.

The shortage of LPG in Pakistan where the latent demand of 600,000 tons of LPG is not met by current production of 320,000 tons requires the infrastructure of the kind proposed by the Progas Pakistan consortium to meet the shortfall of LPG.

PQA in its efforts to contribute to the economy of the country is pursuing many new projects - latest being the construction of liquid cargo terminal and LPG terminal.

The port has not only made headway in improving port facilities but the performance of port in cargo handling has shown record increase by 29pc during 1st half of current financial year as compared to preceding year.—APP