Thailand to produce 2m liters of ethanol by 2002

Thailand to produce 2m liters of ethanol by 2002

BANGKOK (DPA): As part of the government's effort to reduce dependency on imported fuels, the newly established National Ethanol Committee has set a production target of two million liters of the alternative fuel by the year 2002, news reports said Sunday.

The National Ethanol Committee will announce its master plan later this month, said the Bangkok Post.

Under the master plan, vehicles in Thailand will be switched to gasahol - a mixture of petrol and locally-refined ethanol - by the end of 2002, said Ongard Ponglux, a senior member of the ethanol committee. The group was set up to form policies and regulations and come up with a master plan for the local production of ethanol, a by- product of agricultural waste.

If Thailand meets the goal, it could replace 10 percent of the country's total fuel consumption with the locally-made alternative, said Ongard.

The project, hatched earlier this year amid world oil price hikes, would include government support for private sector production of ethanol in the form of incentives and subsidies, said the Bangkok Post.

Thailand's National Ethanol Committee recently signed a memorandum of understanding on technology transfer with the Sao Paulo State Sugar Cane Agro-Industry Association, a major ethanol producer in Brazil.

Brazil has been using ethanol as an alternative fuel for 25 years.