The Sharjah Government is running nearly 200 vehicles on compressed natural gas in an experiment to use clean and efficient fuel and cut down on pollution.
The first CNG (compressed natural gas) station has been opened at Halwan area, near the Co-op, and initially only vehicles of Sewa (Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority) are fitted with the converters to run on gas, an engineer with the Authority said.
The gas station presently has two pumps and the token price has been fixed at 75 fils for a cubic metre of gas. But the drivers of the Sewa vehicles which pull into the station do not have to pay for the fuel at present.
A motor mechanic said converting a petrol engine to gas takes about a day-and-half. "The technology is simple." He said taxis and most private vehicles are being run on CNG in his home state in Kerala, south India.
The gas pump was inaugurated by Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Chairman of Sewa Board of Directors.
Mohammad Abdullah, a Sewa employee who was topping up gas in his vehicle, said the gas canister is fitted at the back.
"One canister gives about 140 kms," he said. The engineer said there is no big difference in the performance of the engine.
"It goes as fast as the petrol engine," he said, but noted that usually there is a slight problem when starting the vehicle.
The gas station is the first in the region and more will soon be opened for cars and vehicles of all government departments, including Sharjah Transport. Shaikh Sultan said private taxis and vehicles will be covered at a later date.
Alternative
- In the future, all Sewa vehicles will be converted to run both on CNG and petrol, said Ali Abdullah Al No'man, director general of Sewa.
- "Using compressed natural gas will result in substantial savings in fuel costs," he said.
- Natural gas is presently piped through to most buildings in Sharjah. Restaurants and eateries have been given a deadline to change to piped gas from the gas cylinder networks at present.
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