Vietnam’s biofuel system installation to be sped up

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Le Duong Quang has asked petrol producers and agencies to speed up the distribution of E5 biofuel to meet a deadline set by the prime minister.
According to PM Decision 53/2012/QD-TTg, E5, petrol mixed with 5% ethanol, will be rolled out on national scale by the end of 2015.
Seven cities including Ha Noi, central Da Nang City and HCM City, and the two provinces of Quang Ngai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau will take the lead in developing the fuel and using it by December 2014.
The deputy director of the ministry’s science and technology department, Nguyen Phu Cuong, said that except for PetroVietnam Corporation (PVN) and Sai Gon Petro, most petrol and oil enterprises had not actively developed distribution.
PVN Deputy General Director Nguyen Sinh Khang said the government had only issued preferential policies to encourage biofuel production but had not supported a distribution system.
In fact, only 175 out of 12,000 petrol stations nationwide sell E5 biofuel. These are owned by PVN and Sai Gon Petro. Meanwhile, Petrolimex, the petrol supplier accounting for 50% of the domestic market share, has made no investment.
A representative from Petrolimex said the corporation was studying investment plans because investment in biofuel distribution required a huge amount of money.
Quang told producers and relevant agencies to enhance co-operation and jointly tackle difficulties. He said the deadline should not be extended because national energy security and the livelihoods of cassava growers all depended on popularizing biofuel.
He ordered companies to detail their investment plans and submit them to the ministry before June 5, 2013.
The deputy minister also asked the Domestic Market Department to study petrol trading management to create favorable conditions for biofuel production and distribution.
A PVN representative also asked the Ministry of Finance to exempt import taxes imposed on equipment for fuel storage, transportation and blending. The company also asked the government to reduce or exempt biofuel from environment taxes because it is an environmentally friendly product.
(May 24, 2013)