Inpex received an exceptional development permit required for the Howard Springs accommodation village on Friday.

The Howard Springs accommodation village will house around 2700 fly-in, fly-out workers required to build the 8.4 million tonne per annum LNG plant at Blaydin Point, Darwin. It will also be able to accommodate a further 800 workers if required.

"Pending a final investment decision, work on the village will begin early this year and I am pleased to say a large amount of construction work is expected to go to local business," Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson said.

According to the minister, construction of the village is expected to create up to 300 local jobs while around 120-150 people would be required to maintain and operate it.

He also said Inpex had incorporated design features such as vegetation buffer zones and low level lighting to minimise potential impact on the surrounding community.

According to media reports, Inpex is expected to make a FID on the estimated $30 billion project sometime this week. In November Inpex, which was originally targeting FID by the end of 2011, said approval could slip into mid-January.

Ichthys will deliver 8.4MMtpa of LNG as well as 1.6MMtpa of liquefied petroleum gas and 100,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak production.