DODOMA: PLANS are underway by the government to install Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations in few selected areas to facilitate the use of gas in its vehicles, it has been stated.
Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Dunstan Kitandula, spoke of the plan in Parliament yesterday when responding to the question posed by Chadema Special Seats legislator Grace Tendega, on behalf of the Minister for Energy.
In her question, Ms Tendega sought an answer from the government on its strategy to ensure its vehicles run on gas. In his response, Mr Kitandula said currently the government focuses on preparing infrastructure that will facilitate the use of CNG in its vehicles.
He said, the government, through the Government Procurement Services Agency (GPSA), has begun working on procedures for installation of CNG infrastructure to serve government vehicles.
He said before the construction of CNG infrastructure, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (EISA) must be conducted in the selected areas of the projects.
Furthermore, he said before installing the infrastructure, detailed architectural designs must be prepared.
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According to the deputy minister, to avail CNG for vehicle use along Dar es Salaam – Dodoma highway, the Tanzanian Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) is currently in the procurement stage for the project to install mobile CNG stations in Dar es Salaam Region (3), Morogoro Region (1) and Dodoma Region (2).
In her supplementary question, Ms Tendega sought the government stand on the possibility of involving private sector in ensuring vehicles that are imported arrive in the country with already installed CNG systems.
Furthermore, the opposition legislator asked the government on the possibility of waving tax on vehicle CNG conversion kit, given the fact that currently installing CNG system costs between 2m/- and 3m/-, a price that is too high.
In his response, the minister said to encourage the use gas-powered vehicles, the government dropped its intention of extending fuel tax on CNG use in 2024/2025 budget.
It would be recalled that the government dropped the decision after Members of Parliament and the general public faulted the move, saying it was retrogressive in promoting the use of natural gas.
In November last year, the government said it was exploring ways to reduce or eliminate import duties on gas-powered vehicles and their components to encourage more Tanzanians to adopt to cleaner energy options.
According to Mr Kitandula, the incentives offered have started attracting various institutions to import gas-powered vehicles.
Giving an example, the deputy minister said the government has approved a request from UDART to import 755 gas powered buses.
On the possibility of reducing tax on imported vehicle CNG conversion equipment, the deputy minister said the government, though various institutions such as TPDC, Tanzania Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Finance, is exploring areas that can benefit from tax reduction or exemption so that the equipment can be acquired at affordable prices.
Furthermore, Mr Kitandula said TPDC is searching for investors who are ready to establish industries that can produce CNG vehicle conversion kits.
Experts note that CNG is more economical than petrol and diesel. For example, the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) reports that a kilogram of CNG currently costs 1,500 shillings, while a litre of f petrol in Dar es Salaam costs 2,800/-.
