Come next year technicians across Guyana will be involved in training geared towards equipping them with the knowledge of converting cars which use gasoline to use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas.
This was recently related to this publication by the Massy Gas Products, Health, Safety, Security and Environmental Manager, Robert Chin Hong during an interview.
According to Chin “we are bringing in a technician to train local mechanics, both at Massy Industries and a couple other well-known mechanics throughout the country to be able to convert vehicles adequately”.
This will be done as early as January he noted. The training sessions will be done subsequent to an official launch Massy intends to have in 2019.
According to him, training in this area is absolutely necessary since mere “tutorials on YouTube will do no good”. The training he added will not only focus on the conversion of the vehicles but the subsequent servicing of the vehicles.
It was pointed out that any type of vehicle that works with gasoline will be able to be converted to use LPG.
The cost of the conversion Hong noted will be about US $1000, although the company is seeking to have the first set of interested persons pay just a fraction of the cost. He said, “We don’t want this thing to be (expensive) we want people to use it. We want people to start using a gas that produces just about half the amount of emissions that a regular gasoline car works with”.
He outlined that very soon two gas stations will be established in Regions Four (Demerara-Mahaica) in Georgetown and on the East Bank of Demerara, and will spring out to other locations as time progresses and the demand increases for the new type of gas.
A major advantage of the car is that it will be able to switch directly from gasoline usage to LPG, in case the user runs out of the Petroleum Gas.
The Manager shared, “I have been driving this LPG car for over a year and it’s exceptionally safe because the vehicle has built-in safety features, the ability to switch from gas off electronically through a valve in the event that there’s a problem. LPG itself is a gas so if it is leaking it’s not going to accumulate. It’s going to drip out and evaporate into the air…LPG is a lot safer in that way the wind just blows it away in very small quantities it never accumulates enough to cause a fire”.
While the technicians are preparing themselves for training, cars that are already programmed to run on LPG are expected in the country soon, Hong noted.
According to him individuals and even organizations such as the Guyana Fire Service and the Guyana Police Force have already expressed interest in the vehicles.
While stating some of the other benefits of using the LPG car, the manager informed that the conversion can be done within a day’s time.
Among the notable benefits to the user is that it will reduce their expenses when it comes to fuel costs as LPG would be cheaper. “The price for fuel right now is at about $220 per gallon, we expect that the price per litre of LPG for vehicular uses will be around $170 and $180.”
Additionally, cars powered by this type of gas will produce half the amount of harmful emissions when compared to those powered by gasoline. It also requires less servicing when compared to gasoline cars which oblige servicing about every three months.
Massy first revealed the LPG powered car at the inaugural Green Expo hosted at the National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara.
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) recently moved to exempt excise tax from motor vehicles principally designed to accommodate Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
GRA said, “In accordance with Table A-19 of the Excise Tax Regulations these vehicles must have an engine capacity not exceeding 2000 cc and not exceeding four years old. Additionally, Part III B (i) of the First Schedule of the Customs Act has been amended to exempt Customs Duties on machinery and equipment, determined by the Commissioner-General, to set up refilling stations for vehicles principally designed to accommodate Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)”. (Davina Ramdass)
