CNG use not feasible next year
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Blue-sky campaigners may have to wait a bit longer for the mandatory use of compressed natural gas (CNG) by public transportation vehicles in the capital as a sufficient gas network is unlikely to be seen next year.
Executive manager of the Jakarta branch of PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) Subanendro said on Tuesday that the existing gas network could only meet some 40 percent of gas demand.
In an interview with The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, Subanendro explained that only 268 kilometers out of 500 kilometers of steel pipe across the city was compatible with high pressure gas, which could funnel the fuel to the gas stations.
He said the existing gas pipes are located along Jl. Daan Mogot, Jl Raya Pluit Utara, Jl. Raya Pluit Timur, Jl. R.E Martadinata, Jl. Sunter Barat, Jl. Sunter Selatan, Jl. Yos Sudarso, Jl. Kelapa Gading, Jl Raya Bekasi, and Jl. Pemuda.
Subanendro, however, stressed that the company had no plan to invest to develop a new gas network, including the construction of shorter pipes connecting PGN's main pipes with gas stations.
"The development of gas stations and the connecting pipes should be the responsibility of the city administration and its business partners," he added.
The mandatory use of CNG for public transportation was stated in the newly endorsed Bylaw No. 2/2005 on air pollution control. The bylaw is expected to be enforced one year after it was signed in February.
As a stepping stone, the Jakarta administration, PGN and state oil and gas company Pertamina signed last week a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a sustainable supply of CNG in the capital.
Pertamina, as a gas producer, will guarantee the fuel supply, while PGN is responsible for its distribution. The MOU states that the city administration will act as the regulator.
According to Subanendro, the company and the administration have commenced talks over the development of two gas stations in Rawa Buaya, West Jakarta, and on Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan in East Jakarta, which will cater to the needs of 187 buses along Busway corridors II and III, which will connect Pulogadung in East Jakarta and Kalideres in West Jakarta.
He suggested the administration find investors to put in place a "mother-daughter" distribution system, which he said had been successfully developed in other countries using gas-fueled vehicles.
"The administration should not depend on us alone to supply the gas, it should combine the piping system with a "mother- daughter" system, whereby the fuel would be transported by trucks from major gas fuel station to the small ones that are not covered by the piping system," he explained.
There are some 8,300 public transportation vehicles -- buses, taxis, and minivans -- in the city. According to Pertamina, only 500 vehicles in the city use CNG purchased from the six CNG stations still operational.