China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Wednesday said it started construction of its fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Zhuhai City in south China's Guangdong Province.

The terminal will receive 3.5 million tonnes of LNG a year after the first-phase facility is put into operation in September 2013, China's third-largest oil company said.

The first-phase project, which includes three LNG storage tanks, a wharf and 291-km pipelines, involves a total investment of 11.3 billion yuan (1.7 billion U.S. dollars).

It will provide gas supplies to cities of Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Jiangmen in the densely-populated Pearl River Delta area.

The handling capacity will be increased by 7 million tonnes with the help of the second-phase construction planned in the 12th five-year development plan (2011-2015) and ultimately expanded to 12 million tonnes.

CNOOC, parent of the New York- and Hong Kong-listed CNOOC Ltd., has put into operation three LNG terminals in Shanghai, Guangdong and Fujian.

The oil company is also planning to build another nine LNG terminals in country's coastal regions to increase its total annual handling capacity to more than 30 million tonnes.