India: Minister of Petroleum & Gas opens 166 CNG stations in 14 states
Taking a significant step towards building a natural gas-based economy as envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri dedicated 166 CNG filling stations to service of the community. These facilities have been set up by GAIL (India) Limited and nine of its group City Gas Distribution (CGD) companies in 41 geographical areas across 14 states.
Sh. Puri congratulated GAIL and all the participating CGD entities for the expansion of the country’s CNG refueling network. He said that these stations will further strengthen the gas-based infrastructure and availability of cleaner fuel in India. He further stated that as compared to 2014, when there were about 900 CNG stations, currently the number of refueling points have surpassed 4,500, and will be ramped up to 8,000 in the next two years.
The minister emphasized that rollout of CNG on such a scale is expected to incentivize market for CNG vehicles and will have exponential impact in terms of manufacturing, skill development and employment generation. These CNG stations will provide direct employment to about 1.000 people.
Sh. Puri also visited the exhibition on promotion of CNG and LNG based Clean Mobility Technology Vehicles organized by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). During the interaction, he emphasized on the need to reduce vehicular emission through adoption of cleaner fuel and technology in automotive sector. He stressed on the need for enhanced coverage of CNG and LNG vehicles and requested the automotive companies to ensure availability of these vehicles on pan India basis.
“It is commendable to have a collaborative approach of the Government and industry for fostering and nurturing the national goals of reducing oil import and cleaner environment. Automobile Industry is committed to complementing and supporting the Government’s efforts of promoting CNG and expanding the network, by continuously increasing volume and expanding the product portfolio of CNG vehicles,” said Director General of SIAM, Rajesh Menon.
