http://statesman.com.pk/today/local/MORE%20NEWS.htm
PESHAWAR: Jamrud Road, which winds through the historic Khyber Pass and ends at the Torkham border post between Pakistan and Afghanistan, has never been so busy as it is today.
Setting out from side of the border, the first 4-km stretch that begins near the old Christian cemetery has at least five Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations on both sides of the road, all of which have gone up in the last five years or so.
The growing number of CNG stations that have cropped up in major urban centres and along the highways are an indication of the government efforts to popularise CNG use as an alternative source of fuel.
Because of its chemical make-up, CNG is considered an environment-friendly fuel that produces fewer hydrocarbons, less particulate matter and less toxic gases, like carbon monoxide.
‘‘There are so many diseases related to vehicle emissions. The result is an increase in health costs and adverse affect on overall economy. CNG is not only cost-effective, but it can also help to reduce pollution and medical bills,’’ said Dr Adil Zareef, secretary general of the Sarhad Conservation Network.
Pakistan has an estimated 265,000 CNG-operated vehicles and more than 250 CNG stations. This compares with 50,000 vehicles and 50 CNG stations in 1999.
Some 20.4 million cubic feet of gas is being compressed every day. After Argentina and Italy, Pakistan is rated the third biggest user of CNG in the world, and according to petroleum ministry figures, the government intends to convert over 300,000 vehicles to CNG by the end of next year.
But environmental considerations are just one attractive factor in the use of CNG.
Ijaz Khan, an employee with a development agency who converted his car to CNG a few days ago, said, ‘‘For a middle-class person like myself, keeping a car was becoming a difficult proposition because of ever-increasing petroleum prices. CNG has made things a lot easier as it has reduced my petrol bill by more than half.’’
Given a choice, commuters prefer to use a clean fuel that does not harm the environment, particularly if the cost of CNG relative to petrol makes it attractive to the hip pocket.
One of the major reasons pushing Pakistan down this path is its need to lessen its dependence on oil. Around 43 percent of its total primary energy supplies are based on oil, of which less that 20 percent is met through indigenous production.
Pakistan spends nearly 3 billion US dollars per year on the importation of petroleum products.
Road transport is the major consumer of imported oil, using around five million tonnes of oil annually. Transport sector diesel consumption is about three times higher than gasoline consumption.
In this way, the government’s policy of promoting CNG as an alternative fuel is part of a bigger quest to cut the national import bill.
Although environmental concerns have never topped the government’s agenda, efforts to reduce pollution have been achieved by promoting the use of single-graded fuel, synthetic oil for two-stroke engines and the introduction of unleaded fuel.
But these initiatives have not made a significant impact on urban pollution levels, particularly as vehicle numbers have been increasing at around 11 percent a year.
The common use of diesel engines - a recent report by the ministry of environment said that they are the major source of air pollution - does not help efforts to clean up city air.
Across the country, buses, mini buses and trucks are run on diesel because it is cheaper than standard petrol. Until recently CNG converter kits were not available for diesel engines, but the government believes it has solved that problem.
Four Chinese-made CNG-run buses arrived in Karachi in August as part of a grand plan to ease traffic congestion problems in the city. The governor Sindh said another 500 buses were on order.
The CNG industry is also aided in its competition against the oil industry by the government’s market intervention - but even this may change.
Until now there has been no import duty imposed on imports of CNG cylinders and compressors. CNG station owners normally import compressors and cylinders from Italy, New Zealand, England, Canada and Argentina, but for the last five years the CNG industry has benefited from a five-year exemption on CNG converter kits as part of the government’s promotion of their use.
The government is now considering imposing a 10 percent tax on imported CNG equipment when the duty-free period runs out on October 30, but industry sources say the move comes too soon and will only discourage CNG use.
Abdul Sami Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association and CNG Dealers Association, said: ‘‘We have asked the petroleum ministry to extend the exemption for another five years for the promotion of CNG culture.’’
The chairman of the CNG Station Owners Association of Pakistan, Malik Khuda Bukhsh, says that by taxing CNG equipment, the government would slow the pace of the ongoing anti-pollution efforts.
‘‘The imposition of duty would be a major setback for efforts to protect the environment,’’ he said. - IPS