SMART Energy officially opened its sprawling Mandai Link CNG refuelling station yesterday and the government hopes that more such privately funded projects will be seen in future.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is pumped directly from Jurong Island to Smart's 5,700 square metre mother station - the biggest on the mainland. There, the gas can be dispensed to up to eight cars, two buses and two bulk transporters at the same time, with a capacity of up to 100 cars an hour. Previously, vehicles running on CNG had to travel to Jurong Island to refuel. Smart began selling CNG at its Mandai Link site on Feb 1. A week later, SPC also began dispensing CNG at its petrol station on Jalan Buroh.

At yesterday's ceremony, guest-of- honour Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, said that he would like to see the private sector take on more such CNG refuelling projects, just as Smart, the first company to do so, has done.

"We will try to encourage as much as possible the private sector to take up the initiative," said Dr Yaacob. "Where necessary, we will find ways in which we co-fund them but eventually we want the private sector to take this up on their own and build it up."

Smart sells the CNG at $1.09 per kg. It takes a car with two 50-litre tanks about a minute to refuel, said Smart Energy general manager William Chua. Each tank can hold up to 10kg of gas and a two-litre car can travel up to 270km on 20kg of CNG.

Mr Chua said that same distance in an ordinary car would require about 30 litres of petrol at $1.90 per litre.

There are about 520 CNG vehicles on Singapore roads today, out of the total population of 700,000 or so vehicles (excluding motorcycles and scooters). Slightly more than half of these CNG units are taxis, of which Smart Taxi, Smart Energy's parent company, operates 100. The rest of the CNG vehicles are private cars and a dozen buses.

The bi-fuel cars can run on either petrol or gas. Most of the cars have been retrofitted here with conversion kits to allow them to operate on CNG. Only the Mercedes-Benz E200 NGT (Natural Gas Technology) cars are factory-fitted with the gas tanks and injectors.

"There is therefore considerable scope for more vehicles to switch to CNG," said Gas Supply Pte Ltd (GSPL) CEO Tan Chin Tung in a speech. "The potential impact of CNG vehicles on the environment should not be underestimated."

Mr Tan called CNG an efficient and environment-friendly fuel that emits less carbon monoxide, less hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxides, and practically no particulate matter, compared with Euro IV diesel vehicles, which emit about 0.025g per km.

Smart has invested almost $12 million on the Mandai Link mother station because the company believes in the product, said Mr Chua.

"Even the big oil companies won't invest in a mother station nor such a huge facility," he said. "We are bold enough to take the first step because this is the way to go. As oil prices continue to rise, we need an alternative fuel - and CNG is it."

Smart is planning to open another station in Serangoon North in September. The Mandai Link facility will supply this second site with CNG by trailer.

'We are bold enough to take the first step because this is the way to go.

As oil prices continue to rise, we need an alternative fuel - and CNG is it.' - Tan Chin Tung, CEO, Gas Supply Pte Ltd

This story was first published in The Business Times on Feb 19, 2008.