UPDATE 1-Asia consortium wins Mexico Manzanillo LNG deal

(Adds further details about bids, contract specifications, paragraphs 3-6)

MEXICO CITY, March 7 (Reuters) - Mexico's CFE Federal Electricity Commission said on Friday it awarded a $480 million contract to build and operate a new LNG terminal at the Pacific port of Manzanillo to a consortium called Terminal KMS de GNL.

The consortium is made up of Japan's Mitsui 8031.T, South Korean group Samsung (010140.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) and the Korea Gas Corp 036460.KS.

The group beat two other consortiums, one formed by Canada's TransCanada (TRP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), Argentina's Techint and Belgium's Tractebel (LYOE.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), and the other made up of Spain's Iberdrola (IBE.MC: Quote, Profile, Research), Mexico's ICA (ICA.MX: Quote, Profile, Research) (ICA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Japan's Tokyo Gas Co Ltd (9531.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and IHI (7013.T: Quote, Profile, Research).

CFE official Alfredo Granados said all three bids met the tender requirements but Terminal KMS de GNL's was the cheapest.

The contract is for the construction and running of the new liquefied natural gas import terminal, including receiving the supercooled liquid gas arriving by ship, storing it and turning it back into a gas form.

The CFE, which supplies power to all of Mexico except the capital and is converting plants to run on natural gas, last year awarded Spain's Repsol YPF (REP.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) a $15 billion contract to supply the Manzanillo terminal with LNG from southern Peru. (Reporting by Mica Rosenberg; Writing by Catherine Bremer; Editing by David Gregorio)