Snag-Hit Gas Station Project to Delay Arrival of CNG buses

KARACHI, July 4: A lack of progress in the city government’s project to build five gas stations has become a serious impediment in the arrival of CNG buses in the metropolis.

City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal, in his recent budget speech, announced that the city government would bring in 500 CNG buses during the financial year 2008-09 for which Rs500 million had been allocated from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). However, it would be next to impossible for intending operators to ply the buses in the absence of filling stations as the existing filling stations are not meant for the large buses.

Under its CNG buses project, the government has promised intending operators that it will give subsidy on the mark-up and provide filling stations and depots for the CNG buses to encourage them so that they can bring in more buses to the city. But there has been no progress in the implementation of the project because of the delay in setting up the five filling stations at the defunct Karachi Transport Corporation depots.

The city government had asked for an expression of interest (EOI) from local companies in July last year to build, operate and manage five filling stations for CNG buses, one each in Malir, Surjani, Shah Latif Town, Gulistan-i-Jauhar and Orangi Town. In response, local firms submitted 33 EoIs for the five stations a year ago, but the CDGK has failed to award any contracts so far.Well-placed sources cite several reasons for the delay, including the non-availability of proposed sites and required gas pressure.

They said some proposed sites were in the possession of the Pakistan Rangers and they were unwilling to vacate the premises in the absence of any alternative arrangement. Besides, the compressed natural gas was being provided by the Sui Southern Gas Company, with a pressure of seven pound per square inch (psi), which was insufficient for large buses, the sources said.“The gas pressure required for filling a bus is 35 psi,” said Executive District Officer (Transport) Malik Zaheerul Islam.“It is a big problem and we have brought this matter to the knowledge of the federal government and the SSGC authorities.

We had a series of meetings with the SSGC during the last three to four months and the company finally agreed to lay the required gas lines with a minimum pressure of 30 psi.”He said the planning commission played an important role in the development. The SSGC completed its survey and it would also bear some expenses as the project was financially viable for it, he added.

The EDO agreed that there was a delay in the setting up of CNG filling stations that coincided with the arrival of CNG buses. “In the light of new findings, the CDGK has decided to re-advertise the RFPs (request for proposal) to set up CNG stations for buses as we want to make the transport affordable,” he said.

He said the city government raised the issue of some depots occupied by Rangers with the provincial and the federal governments and they agreed to get the premises vacated from the paramilitary force.