Following a year after a slump in prices of metals used in construction, State-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. (GSPC) has raised the capacity of its planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal by 30% to 6.5 million tonnes (mt).

The GSPC is aiming to get the plant ready by 2013 at a cost of Rs3,000-3,500 crore. This has become possible as there had been sharp falls in prices of metals such as steel and nickel.

A senior company official, who did not want to be identified, said on Wednesday, “Initially, it was for 5mt but then we found that we can raise the capacity up to 6.5 (mt) without much of an (extra) investment.”

He added, “GSPC will hold 50% stake in the project, while Ahmedabad-based Adani Group will take 25%. We might sell the remaining 25% to some financial institutions or state refiners.”

The planned hike in capacity was confirmed by a second senior official at the company.