A consortium led by Royal Vopak, a Dutch multinational that stores and handles various products from oil to biofuels, has won the bid to build and run a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Richards Bay, a port on South Africa’s east coast, for a quarter of a century.

The state-owned Transnet National Ports Authority announced the decision on Wednesday. Vopak, which has a global network of terminals, partnered with Transnet Pipelines, another state-owned firm, in the bidding process. The project is part of South Africa’s efforts to boost gas consumption as a transitional fuel source in the face of commitments to green energy targets.

Vopak already runs a major LNG terminal in Durban, under the Vopak Chemicals EMEA division, mainly used for storage as an interum node in the transportation of fuel gases.

With 130,000 cbm capacity, Vopak Terminal Durban is accessible by all modes of transport, with four berths of 12 metres draught. They are equipped to store a variety of fluid chemical products, from gases to vegetable oils, and offers a variety of treatment services to aid in transport, as well as blending of various fuel mixes.

The Chemicals Europe, Middle East & Africa division (CEMEA) operates 19 terminals across the global region, with a total storage capacity of around 4.8 million cbm.

South Africa is keen to diversify its energy mix, which is currently dominated by coal-fired power plants that are unreliable and polluting. It is looking to increase the use of gas, as well as renewable sources such as wind and solar, to overcome its worst energy crisis ever.

The LNG terminal at Richards Bay, which is expected to start operating in 2027, will be the first of its kind in the country. Moshe Motlohi, the managing executive for the eastern region ports at Transnet, said the project was “exciting” and would help achieve the government’s developmental goals.