Space for gas stations running out: Sarwono

JAKARTA (JP): The scarcity of land in the city has become a major obstacle to building new gas stations, Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said yesterday.

He said investors were struggling to find land to build new stations.

"To solve the problem, the Jakarta administration is only willing to issue permits for gasoline and diesel fuel filling stations if the investors also build natural gas pumps," Sarwono said after inaugurating a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) station in a Taxi Express pool on Jl. Veteran, Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta.

According to Sarwono, the city has 25 gas filling stations, 18 of which sell compressed natural gas (CNG) and seven LPG.

Some of the 153 diesel fuel and gasoline stations also sell CNG and LPG.

Of 2.5 million vehicles on the city's streets, about 1,800 -- comprising 1,570 taxies, 150 private cars and 80 public buses -- use LPG and CNG.

The percentage of vehicles running on natural gas climbed yesterday when 200 taxis in the Taxi Express fleet were converted.

"The use of gas fuel is not only to support the Blue Sky program but also to benefit people because of the low price of the gas," Sarwono said.

The blue sky program was introduced by Sarwono last year to reduce air pollution.

A liter of CNG costs Rp 270 (10 US cents) while LPG is Rp 570 per liter.

CNG is provided by PT Elnusa, a subsidiary of the state-owned oil company PT Pertamina while LPG is distributed by the privately run PT Otogas Karya Pratama.

Sri Hartati Sutowo, a director of PT Otogas, said yesterday a LPG station cost Rp 500 million (US$175,438), excluding the cost of the land, to develop and required at least 500 square meters.

"That's why we cooperated with public transportation companies to build gas stations in their fleets' pools," Sri said.

Besides that, city taxis travel an average of 350 kilometers a day, which would make the use of gas very economic, she said.

Three of the seven LPG filling stations are owned by taxi companies, two by Citra Taxi, run by businesswoman Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, and the Express Taxi one inaugurated today. (jun)