CLEANER cars look set to get more popular, with the opening of the world's biggest compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling station here yesterday, with others slated to follow.
The S$60-million, 7,066 sq m C-nergy station in Toh Tuck has 46 pumps and can serve up to 20,000 vehicles daily.
Since it started running a month ago, it has been serving 1,500 vehicles daily.
At its official opening yesterday, C-nergy's operator, Union Energy Corporation, announced that it will open four more stations by 2012, possibly inWoodlands, Changi and Toa Payoh.
Another CNG retailer, Smart Energy, which runs two stations in Mandai and Serangoon North, is in talks to open its third station in the eastern part of Singapore by the end of this year. That station will have two pumps and serve up to 1,000 vehicles daily.
With these additions, the number of CNG stations here will double from five to 10 by 2012.
CNG is gas that has been compressed so it can be transported in pressure valves instead of pipelines. It is more environmentally friendly than petrol or diesel, as it releases less emissions.
Union Energy Corporation managing director Teo Kiang Ang, 60, said that the building of more refuelling stations is likely to spark greater demand for CNG vehicles here.
Smart Energy general manager William Chua, 51, agreed: "As more CNG stations open, people will find it more convenient to refuel. This will improve their perception of CNG and make them more open to the idea of driving CNG vehicles."
The number of CNG vehicles here has been burgeoning, from 119 in 2005, when there was just one CNG station on Jurong Island, to 4,200 now.
Taxis will push the growth further. Mr Teo, who is also managing director of Trans-Cab, said that he plans to expand his fleet of CNG taxis from 1,000 to more than 8,000 in the next five years. The company now owns more than 3,000 cabs, out of Singapore's total of 24,440.
Lawyer Raymond Fong, 47, switched from a sports utility vehicle to a CNG car last year, when petrol prices soared to more than S$2 a litre. He pays S$1.32 for 1kg of CNG.
The Choa Chu Kang resident said: "I've saved 40 per cent in fuel costs since switching to CNG. The Toh Tuck facility is more convenient for drivers as it is near two expressways."
World's biggest CNG station opens
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