Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Syed Naveed Qamar on Wednesday inaugurated the Pakistan leg of CNG Car Rally organised by Asian Natural Gas Vehicles Association - ANGVA.
Naveed Qamar launched the GHP (Green Highway Project) marathon which entails travelling of the torch from Islamabad to Karachi on a CNG car while traversing through all CNG cities along the Green Highway by handing over GHP torch to the Pakistan team comprising Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan.
Addressing the ceremony, Syed Naveed Qamar, who was chief guest on the occasion, said the rally reflected growth and acceptance of natural gas as a standard alternative to liquid petroleum fuels not only in Pakistan but throughout the Asia-Pacific Region.
"Pakistan is proud to have become the largest CNG user in the world. The natural gas replaced not only gasoline in Pakistan but also diesel since a large number of vans and mini-buses had also converted to natural gas," he added. The minister said Pakistan was making strides in CNG as gas usage had proliferated to a point where there were ample CNG stations all across the country.
He said the rally showed that the world had woken up to greener fuels. He looked forward to promoting CNG in Pakistan and making it the dream fuel of Asia. He said that as winter comes and despite supply demand gap in natural gas industry, any decision in that regard would take into account the concerns of all stakeholders including CNG dealers. He said cleaner fuels like natural gas in its various forms as well as ethanol were being introduced in the country.
He said that LPG was also being looked at and would soon be embarked upon on completion of feasibility studies. Naveed Qamar said it was encouraging that public transport on CNG was also being introduced and that any bottlenecks in the way would be removed. He reiterated government's commitment to greener fuels and congratulated the participants on being part of a great project that will be remembered as a landmark in the future.
Hilal A. Raza, Director General, Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan said CNG had become a household name in Pakistan. CNG has been accepted as a standard transport fuel by Pakistani society. It has surpassed petrol as a transport fuel and it is an enviable phenomenon for energy economists to witness the acceptance of a new fuel in the energy mix of a country. "When we introduced CNG as motor fuel in Pakistan by starting this station as a pilot demonstration project in 1989, people considered it a wild idea," he added.
Pakistan is the global leader boasting the largest CNG industry of the world. This is the second CNG station of Asia, the first being in Karachi which no more exists. It can be called the oldest operating CNG station of Asia.
Chairman Ogra, Tauqir Sadiq said the continued patronage and support of the government and the efficient and stringent regulatory framework had proved to be an excellent combination in bringing the CNG sector to this level where billions of rupees investment has resulted in the CNG industry only due to the growing confidence of the investors.-PR
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