China Gas Holdings Ltd, which operates 61 natural gas projects on the mainland, will build a 1.2 billion yuan liquified natural gas plant in Southwest China to meet growing demand for cleaner fuels.

The plant, in the southwestern city of Dazhou, will have an annual capacity of 500,000 metric tons, or about 700 million cubic meters of gas, the company said.

This is the second major gas project the company has announced in a week. On May 23 China Gas said it had formed a venture with Oman Oil Co to ship the fuel to China from the Middle East.