Giant gas station to fuel Xi'an cars
By Ma Lie (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-03 05:48

XI'AN: Xi'an Zhuhong Major Gas Station, the largest compressed natural gas (CNG) station in Asia providing fuel to automobiles, goes into operation later this month.

According to Shi Jinwen, an official with the Xi'an Municipal Development and Reform Committee, it is the city's latest step in improving the environment and accelerating the development of environmentally friendly transport.

"It is the first major station to be used to provide CNG for vehicles in Xi'an and neighbouring cities," Shi said.

"It will provide 300,000 cubic metres of CNG every day with 30 tanker trucks transporting the gas,"

Deng Zhiwei, an expert from the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau said the station was part of a whole network.

"We are building major gas stations along natural gas pipelines, which store the CNG and provide it to sub-stations where vehicles can refuel," he explained.

Existing "standard stations," built near the pipeline, are too few to supply CNG to all the city's gas powered vehicles.

"At present, Xi'an has 20 standard gas stations which cannot meet demand. Their positioning near the pipeline also makes it difficult for drivers who live elsewhere in the city to access.

"This is why the local government plans to speed up construction of major and sub-stations," Shi added.

By 2010, the local government will have built 180 CNG stations, including 100 standard stations, eight major stations and 72 sub-stations.

The network will cost 140 million yuan (US$17.3 million).

In 2003, Xi'an municipal government mapped out plans for the development of natural gas. The city aims to have 46,000 automobiles using natural gas by 2010, said Qiao Zheng, deputy mayor in charge of urban construction.

Currently, all 10,000 of the city's taxis and some of its buses run on natural gas.

Xi'an residents can convert their petrol-engined cars to CNG for about 4,000 yuan.

Zhang Baotong, an expert on social and economic development and director of Shaanxi Economic Development Research Institute, believes the development of CNG will not only improve the city's air quality but also cut reliance on dwindling oil reserves.

(China Daily 11/03/2005 page3)