Delivery of liquefied natural gas could begin in October 2007

The High Court in London rejected an application by members of the Safe Haven group for a judicial review into the planning consent.

The development would turn Milford Haven into the main centre for importing up to �4bn of LNG.

Supporters argue the project is safe and will boost the region's economy.

The proposed development would turn Milford Haven into a major centre for importing LNG over the next 15 years.

Malaysian company Petronas plans to ship LNG - gas cooled down to liquid form to make it easier to transport - from all over the world.

Supporters of the LNG project say it will boost the local economy

It would then be fed into the UK gas supply.

Permission was granted last year for LNG terminals at the Petroplus site at Waterston and the former Esso refinery at Milford Haven.

But opponents have claimed the terminals would be too close to the towns of Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven and Neyland.

On Thursday, two members of the Safe Haven group began asking the High Court for permission to attempt to have the consent for the project given by Pembrokeshire council and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park quashed.

But in a judgement on Friday, the application was denied.

Those in favour of building the terminals at Milford say the development would provide a major boost to the region's economy.

They claim work on building the �250m terminal would create up to 700 construction jobs, 30 permanent posts, and many spin-offs for locally-based contractors.

The increase in traffic could also see Milford Haven become one of the UK's busiest ports.