ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) Chairman Brigadier (r) Aslam Khan on Saturday lauded the move of the government to promote the use of regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) in vehicles in place of compressed natural gas (CNG), saying that the move will reduce the oil import bill by almost 20 per cent.
As per the plan, conversion of CNG stations to RLNG is in progress and the CNG stations will not get natural gas in future. Instead, they will use imported LNG which will bring an end to the scarcity of gas for vehicles during the winter, Khan said.
The chairman said that besides reducing oil import bill, the move will reduce environmental pollution and fares for the masses. Aslam Khan said that the imported LNG will be around 20 to 25 per cent cheaper than petrol which will provide relief to millions of people linked to the transport sector and commuters.
“This will also help the government utilise the idle capacity of LNG terminals which was resulting in heavy losses,” he said. “This will bring down the terminal charges on a unit basis while the private sector will start building new terminals with new investments,” he added.
He went on to say that a sizable volume of local gas will be saved through this initiative which could be diverted to the industrial sector, reducing complaints and triggering production and employment. “RLNG usage should be encouraged throughout the year and the natural gas could be used for more efficient purposes in the industrial and power sectors,” he added.
