More than three thousand vehicles run on Natural Gas Vehicles (NGV) in Mozambique, a figure that is far from enough to amortize the investments made by Autogás.

A company dedicated to the distribution and sale of natural gas for vehicles, Autogás claims to have invested several million meticais, mainly in the installation of seven gas stations in the Greater Maputo Region.

The fact was advanced by the executive director of Autogás, João das Neves, during the presentation of a report on the latest developments in the company's project for the sale and distribution of natural gas, as well as conversion kits for automobiles.

According to Das Neves, quoted by AIM, the CNG refueling stations are installed in the Greater Maputo Region, which comprises the municipalities of Maputo, Matola, Boane and the town of Marracuene, and with an installed capacity to serve more than seven thousand vehicles.

Meanwhile, one of the reasons that discourages citizens from joining the CNG is, according to the source, the current national economic situation that has limited the purchasing power of the conversion kit, whose cost varies depending on the car, but on average about 130 thousand meticais.

"We have to find a balance, and right now, with the situation of the national economy and the low purchasing power, naturally the cost of conversion still influences a lot the decision of Mozambicans to join the project," he said.

Another factor undermining the massification of the conversion of gasoline, diesel or alcohol-powered cars to CNG, according to Das Neves, is the absence of a mechanism to stimulate the conversion process.

"Whether it is through exemption from customs duties, for example, or the state subsidizing part of the conversion costs," he said, stressing that similar examples already exist in some countries, including Brazil.

The CEO of Autogás pointed out another desafio that has to do with the low consumption of CNG, because as long as the level of car conversion remains insignificant and the level of demand relatively small, the company's operating costs will remain high.

He added that the biggest desafio is to lower the cost of converting cars and to encourage the conversion centers to gain an added value from this process.

In turn, the CNG users who participated in the meeting point out as one of the dificulties the delay in filling the gas tanks in their vehicles, sometimes waiting more than two hours at the pumps.

About the fact, Das Neves explained that the investment applied in the technology currently installed in each CNG refueling station, valued at $23,000, does not match the eficiency due to the material used.

"We are still afraid of installing a state-of-the-art technology at the pumps because the market might not adhere and it would be a vain investment. In case the market is favorable to increase more clients I believe we will follow the growth of the gains in detriment of the services we will offer". (News)