Govt, Pertamina, PGN to sign MOU on gas supply
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city administration, state-owned oil company PT Pertamina, and gas distributor PT PGN will sign on Friday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) for public transportation vehicles in the capital.
Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo said on Thursday that the MOU, which will be signed by Governor Sutiyoso and the president directors of both Pertamina and PGN, was part of an effort to gradually replace gasoline-powered vehicles with CNG-powered ones.
He added that the use of natural gas would begin with buses running along busway corridors II and III from Pulo Gadung bus terminal in East Jakarta to Kalideres bus terminal in West Jakarta in December.
According to Bylaw No. 2/2005 on air pollution control endorsed in February, all public transportation vehicles are required to use CNG in an effort to reduce air pollution in Jakarta -- the world's third-most polluted city after Mexico City and Bangkok.
Under the MOU, Pertmina will guarantee the supply of CNG gas, while PGN will be responsible for distributing the gas through its pipe networks. The city administration, meanwhile, will act as the regulator.
Fauzi said the administration had decided to develop gas pipe networks, instead of transporting the gas using trucks from large gas stations to smaller ones as it was considered unsustainable.
He said that the city administration was now inviting private companies interested in developing a gas pipe network that would connect the main gas networks owned by PT PGN to CNG stations.
Four private companies have expressed interest in building gas networks in order to serve 200 busway vehicles to be operated in Corridors II and III.
He said the administration was also interested in developing the pipe network, but could not do it as it had not allocated a fund for such a project this year.
"But in the future, we will take part in creating more gas pipe networks to serve buses operating in other corridors," said Fauzi.
The city plans to develop 14 to 15 busway corridors across the city by 2007 to improve public transportation. All buses plying the busway corridors will use CNG.
When asked about the city's preparations for the mandatory use of CNG for all public transportation vehicles as stated in Bylaw No. 2/2005, Fauzi said it would be implemented gradually, considering that a gas distribution system across the city was not yet in place.
"We cannot expect it to be implemented all at once," he added.
According to Pertamina, only 10 out of 17 CNG stations in Greater Jakarta are still operating. A number of taxi drivers, who drive CNG-powered vehicles, said the number of CNG stations that were still functioning was less than five.
Due to the distance between CNG stations and the resultant inconvenience for refilling, the number of vehicles using CNG has also continued to drop. According to Pertamina, there were only some 500 vehicles using CNG last year as compared to 1,500 in 2003, 2,500 in 2022, 4,660 in 2001, and 6,633 in 2000.