China’s Jiaxing port could see the establishment of up to 17 LNG bunkering stations to serve inland shipping, reports said.

The eastern coastal port in Zhejiang province aims to provide a “smooth, efficient, safe and green” inland water transport system with this LNG bunkering move, according to a completed draft of the plan revealed by local media Jiaxing Daily.

In addition to the infrastructure project, shipowners are expected to receive government subsidies of between RMB850,000 ($138,340) to RMB1.4m for the building of LNG-powered vessels with capacity of at least 400 dwt before 31 March 2015.

By 2015, Jiaxing port aims to reduce overall bunker fuel consumption by 8% compared to 2010 levels.