China to improve planning of construction of liquefied natural gas storage facilities

Beijing. May 30. Silkroadnews - China’s top economic planner called for proper planning of the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facilities to improve the country’s storage capacity, the Global Times reports.
Since the beginning of this year, local authorities and companies have stepped up the construction of such storage facilities, but some of them are small and many have been scattered territorially, the representatives of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) say.
The distribution of such facilities should be reasonable, with the focus on “centralized construction”, the commission’s circular reads.
As the demand for natural gas is constantly increasing, the commission called for reserving sufficient areas for construction in the future.
The NDRC also called on local authorities to create facilities using a variety of means of financing, including independent financing and joint stock.
It is also necessary to prevent risks associated with government debt, with strict control over the implementation of both construction and investment plans, as well as tough project approval process, the NDRC officials note.