June 12 (Reuters) - U.S. liquefied natural gas producer

NextDecade ( NEXT ) said on Thursday that its units have

finalized contracts with Bechtel Energy to construct train 4 and

train 5 at its Rio Grande LNG facility, with a combined value of

about $9 billion.

Under engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC)

contracts, NextDecade ( NEXT ) agreed to pay Bechtel about $4.77 billion

under a renewed agreement for the fourth liquefaction train.

For the fifth train, it executed an EPC contract worth

about $4.32 billion.

The company expects the pricing validity under the train

4 and train 5 contracts to extend through September 15, 2025,

and it aims to achieve a positive final investment decision

(FID) on train 4 before the end of the pricing validity period

for its EPC contract.

LNG developers typically reach FIDs on projects once

they have secured enough supply deals to obtain the necessary

financing for construction.

In late May, the company signed a 20-year deal to supply

Japan's power generator JERA with 2 million tonnes per annum of

LNG from the fifth liquefaction facility at its Rio Grande

project.