West Bengal Transport Corporation set to convert bus fleet from diesel to CNG

BGCL and WBTC entered into a five-year agreement, where BGCL will be setting up CNG facilities within the premises of WBTC and supply CNG to buses.

Bihar/Mumbai - West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) and Bengal Gas Co Ltd (BGCL) had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for supply and setting up facilitates for compressed natural gas (CNG) as the fuel to operate its converted CNG bus fleet. WBTC will convert the buses from diesel to CNG in a phased manner.

            BGCL and WBTC entered into a five-year agreement, where BGCL will be setting up CNG facilities within the premises of WBTC and supply CNG to buses. In the first phase, BGCL will set up eight stations at bus depots at Howrah, Salt lake, Thakurpukur, Nilgunj, Belghoria, Santragachi, Karunamoyee and Kasba. BGCL will invest USD0.46m for each station at 8 depots.

Also, BGCL was authorized by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for the supply of CNG through pipeline in Kolkata metropolitan area. Pipe laying work are started, and phase I completion expected in this year.

“Apart from building CNG stations at WBTC’s bus depots, we are working out on an incentive scheme to attract private bus operators to run their fleet on CNG. There can be a two-year tax holiday for running electric and CNG buses,” State minister added.

¹BGCL, a joint venture company of GAIL & Greater Calcutta Gas Supply Corporation Ltd (CGSCL), a company of GoWB to develop City Gas Distribution (CGD) Network in Kolkata ( CGD network in Kolkata city and parts of adjoining districts of North 24 Parganas, south 24 Paraganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Nadia) to cater gas supply to customers in the domestic, transport, and commercial sectors. Kolkata CGD project is a part of prestigious URJA Ganga Pipeline Project. The transport sector uses natural gas as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and the domestic, industrial & commercial sectors use it as Piped Natural Gas (PNG).