GAIL to set up four more CNG stations in city

VADODARA: In an ambitious move to take compressed natural gas users from 300 to 3,000 in nine months, the Gas Authority of India is planning to install two mother stations near GSFC and Ajwa Road and two daughter stations near HPCL Karelibagh and BPCL Makarpura.
This would take the total number of CNG stations in the city to five with one already in place at Nizampura.The move follows GAIL’s earlier decision to install pumps at Rajkot, Surendranagar, Mehsana, Sabarkantha and a world class station in Gandhinagar for which the gas corporation has already been given an ‘NOC’ by the state government.
GAIL has already tabled its proposal before the state government seeking concessions on various regulatory norms and taxes including octroi imposed on CNG kits and vehicles. Sources in GAIL say most of these policies would be designed on the Delhi and Mumbai model.
Addressing participants at a seminar, zonal manager GAIL, Ahmedabad, TK Majumdar said the plan to install four more stations is in tune with its target that the corporation hopes to achieve over a period of one year.
“If we don’t achieve this target, our plan would go for a toss. The four stations would be installed by December 2004. We would market the concept intensively by roping in various Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) and by spreading awareness among the public regarding CNG’s costeffectiveness and safety.�
Highlighting the efficiency of the fuel, GAIL CNG project manager Nilesh Desai said the output of one kg of CNG on an average is 1.25 times better, than a litre of petrol.
“If a kilometre on a petrol-driven vehicle costs Rs 2.10 it comes to 61 paise in a CNG vehicle. One automatically saves Rs 1.50 every kilometre. Besides with a higher octane coefficient of 167 it is higher than the premium petrol available in the market.�
“Introducing incentive schemes to promote this concept can work wonders. We see a tremendous potential in Vadodara which already has a vehicular population of almost 6.47 lakh,� says CNG operator Rushiraj Jadeja.
Senior officials of GAIL also point to the narrow flammability limit of the fuel which is between 5 to 15 per cent when compared to 1.5 per cent of petrol. Also the gas casket which is of 9 kg capacity has been crash-tested from a height of almost 30 feet, which makes the CNG assembly a safe option.
“If we find more takers for this concept it would help reduce Nox by almost 67 per cent in the city’s atmosphere, carbon dioxide by 93 per cent and carbon monoxide by 96 per cent,� adds Desai.
The conversion costs, however, according to senior officials would be a major draw. While passenger car conversion are pegged between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000, it is between Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 5.5 lakh for diesel driven buses.