Christopher Tan, Straits Times 13 Aug 09;
THE world's biggest compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling station opened for business yesterday - barely four months after construction started.
The 7,066 sq m station in Old Toh Tuck Road near Jurong East, owned by gas bottler and cab operator Union Energy, has 46 pumps. Twenty-five are operational, with the rest expected to start dispensing gas when the station opens officially on Sept 9.
Union Energy managing director Teo Kiang Ang, who also runs taxi company Trans-Cab, said: 'The construction was very fast. Getting all the approvals took a year.'
He added that he is now looking to build a few more stations in the northern and eastern parts of Singapore.
With the Toh Tuck station, there are now four CNG stations serving users on the mainland.
Asked if the 4,200 or so CNG vehicles here - or 0.5 per cent of the total vehicle population - can support that many stations, Mr Teo was positive.
'Trans-Cab is aiming to have 3,000 more CNG taxis in the next 1-1/2 years or so. That's the minimum.'
The man who entered the cab industry only in 2004 now has more than 3,000 taxis on the road, with around 1,000 of them running on gas.
The newcomer is now Singapore's largest taxi group after ComfortDelGro.
Mr Teo said the station is operating very smoothly, and a convenience store operated by 7-Eleven has also just opened for business there.
Although it has been open to the public for only a day, the station is already a hit with taxi operators.
'The gas is the cheapest on the mainland, at $1.21 per kg,' said Mr Neo Nam Heng, managing director of Prime Taxis. 'And it has so many pumps.'
The $1.21 price, however, is only an introductory offer, and is expected to be adjusted to $1.32, which puts it close to the current price of CNG dispensed at Smart Energy's Mandai station.
Cabby Francis Cheh, 40, said the new station is well located, but he still prefers to go to the pump on high-security Jurong Island, as its gas costs $1.20 per kg. 'I live in Jurong, and I have a pass to enter Jurong Island,' he said.
Meanwhile, the craze among motorists to convert their cars to run on CNG seems to be losing steam.
C Melchers, a leading converter here, said business has been slow, and the company is looking to diversify, such as by importing CNG commercial vehicles.
Observers said reasons for the waning interest include petrol prices having come off their 2008 highs of more than $2 a litre - although rates have been creeping up of late - and the absence of conveniently located refuelling stations.
The Toh Tuck facility, which C Melchers helped to build, is expected to address the latter issue. It is the largest of its kind in the world. The next biggest one is in Bangkok, which has 44 pumps.
