The world's largest floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) has arrived in Hong Kong to serve the city's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, said CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd and Hong Kong Electric Co. Ltd.

The FSRU arrived on April 13 and will set sail after checks and port clearance procedures to the offshore Hong Kong LNG terminal next week for final commissioning of the project, the two companies said in a joint statement on Thursday evening.

The 4 million tonnes a year import terminal project has been delayed by more than two years as the COVID-19 pandemic slowed construction.

To be renamed the Bauhinia Spirit, the FSRU owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines 9104.T and Vopak VOPA.AS, is 345 meters long and has storage capacity of 263,000 cubic meters.

The vessel will be moored at the jetty of Hong Kong LNG terminal to receive, store and regasify LNG. 

The LNG terminal, jointly developed by CLP Power and HK Electric, is scheduled to start operating in mid-2023. CLP Power last month issued a tender to purchase a commissioning cargo for the terminal for delivery in May. 

(Reuters - Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Sonali Paul)