Government will soon lower CNG price

The government plans to lower the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) to below Rp3,000 per liter equivalent in bid to encourage more people to use gas for their vehicles, Kompas reported on Friday.

The plan was unveiled by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro after a coordination meeting with the chief minister for economy Boediono on Thursday.

Purnomo said that his office was studying the possibility of reducing the CNG price to as low as Rp2,200 per liter equivalent as proposed by the ministry of the transportation. "With the lower CNG price, we hope more taxis would use gas," he added.

Although President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has officially launched the campaign to encourage the public to use CNG, the government is currently focusing the use of CNG on taxis and public buses.

Besides lowering the price, Purnomo said, the government would also provide rolling funds for taxis and public owners to buy a converter kit. "The price of a converter kit which is about Rp 10 million each, is still considered to be too expensive for them," he added. (*)