COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS (CNG) STATIONS

COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS (CNG) STATIONS

23.

Dr Lam Pin Min asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what is the number of compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in Singapore; and (b) whether there are plans in the near future to build CNG stations in more accessible or centralised parts of Singapore so as to encourage more Singaporeans to convert to driving the environmentally friendlier CNG vehicles.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: There is currently only one CNG refuelling station in Singapore, located on Jurong Island.

In addition, two more CNG refuelling stations have been planned to be operational within the next year or so. I understand that taxi company SMART Automobile is working to set up one station at Mandai by January 2008, and another at Serangoon North in the later part of 2008.

As part of the Government's support for private sector efforts to develop CNG re-fuelling infrastructure, we have helped companies co-fund the start-up costs through the National Environment Agency's Innovation for Environmental Sustainability Fund. NEA helped to fund the existing Jurong Island station, and will also be giving funding to SMART Automobile for its proposed stations at Mandai and Serangoon. We hope that the private sector will seize this opportunity of co-funding to build new and more CNG re-fuelling stations.

In addition to the co-funding of infrastructure, NEA has also been exploring with petrol stations, such as SPC, Caltex and Shell, on the possibility of dispensing CNG at their service stations.

To promote the use of more environmentally-friendly vehicles, the green vehicle rebate was introduced in 2001 to lower the cost differential between green vehicles and conventional vehicles. As at end May 2007, there are 339 CNG vehicles on the road. I hope that, moving forward, more Singaporeans will opt for CNG or other green vehicles. As more CNG vehicles come on the road, the demand for refuelling stations will grow and this, in turn, will encourage the private sector to provide such infrastructure.