July 19, 2006	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 22, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, July 18: The federal government on Tuesday directed the provincial governments to gradually replace outdated diesel buses with CNG buses. This was observed by a delegation of Engineering Development Board (EDB). The delegation had visited manufacturing facilities of Hinopak Motors and Afzal Motors in Karachi.

The visit was aimed at assessing potential of CNG bus manufacturing in Pakistan by there Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

The team which was led by EDB CEO Imtiaz Rastgar reiterated that the government of Pakistan was committed to making Pakistan a pollution-free zone.

It was observed that the dedicated CNG engine, CNG conversion kit, cylinders and other accessories were being imported by the manufacturers. However, they had the capabilities of manufacturing and assembling of chassis, body and trim, etc., locally.

The CNG buses manufactured in Pakistan were Euro II emission standards compliant and also offered optional pneumatic and air suspension.

It was learnt that Hino Japan had developed a dedicated CNG engine specially for Pakistan, which indicated their interest in this market. Daewoo, on the other hand, already had co-developed the CNG engine with AFS, Canada. They were not only catering to South Korea’s domestic market but also exporting CNG buses.

The team said that the initial capital cost of a CNG bus was higher by approximately 30 to 35 per cent compared with a diesel bus. The higher initial cost was due to the additional CNG kit, CNG cylinder, catalytic converter and other CNG accessories.

Another factor adding to the higher initial costs was the higher operation costs of the manufacturers which was due to lower volumes of production. The operational costs would automatically come down with the increase in volumes of production, the team said.

The operational cost of a CNG bus was lower than that of an equivalent diesel bus. The per kilometre cost of a CNG bus was approximately 15 per cent lower and per kilometre maintenance cost was approximately 20 per cent lower than diesel bus. The team said that Hinopak had the capacity to manufacture 6,000 chassis per annum which could be used either for buses or trucks.

The production capacity for buses alone was estimated to be 2,400 units per annum. Presently, Hinopak had an order of 200 CNG buses from Al-Shahbaz Transport Co which were planned for production during the current and next months.

Afzal Motors would have the capacity to assemble and manufacture 5,000 Daewoo CNG buses per annum upon completion of their plant. Six of their engineers were being trained by Daewoo Korea for this plant.

Talking about limitations, the team said that the gap between the prices of diesel and CNG was narrowing which was disturbing the economic feasibility of conversion to CNG from diesel buses.

The situation was discouraging transport operators to convert to CNG buses. There should be a substantial difference between the prices of diesel and CNG to attract conversion from diesel to CNG buses.

The team also pondered over fuelling infrastructure required for operation of CNG bus fleets which was non-existent at present.

The CNG filling stations for buses which required capacities and facilities should be installed in different areas to minimize the off road time of buses.