Biofuel Development: “Will Keep Up With the Roadmap”

By 2015, 7 provinces and cities across the country will be required to use biofuel blends for motor vehicles. Mr. Nguyen Phu Cuong - Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Industry and Trade) - discussed with reporters of the Industry and Trade Newspaper about the preparation for this roadmap.

Mr. Nguyen Phu Cuong

- To develop renewable energy, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 177/2007/QD-TTg approving the project to develop renewable energy until 2015, with a vision to 2025. How far have the project's objectives been implemented, sir?

Up to now, most of the set targets have been implemented on time, and many targets have even exceeded the set plan. In particular, the construction of policy mechanisms and legal documents to help manage and develop the biofuel industry has been completed, creating a legal corridor for the development of the biofuel industry.

Currently, the country has 169 E5 gasoline stores out of 13,000 gas stations. The Oil and Gas Group and Saigon Petro have also invested in blending systems at major warehouses, general warehouses and large gas stations in Cat Lai, Dinh Vu, Tra Noc, etc.

- In December 2014, some provinces and cities will require the use of e5 gasoline. Will consumers have difficulty accessing bio-fuel?

Experience from countries with distribution systems and climates relatively similar to Vietnam such as Thailand and the Philippines shows that switching to biofuel distribution only requires installing some additional equipment to ensure quality and avoid gasoline contamination. To prepare for the roadmap, Petrolimex, PV Oil, and Saigon Petro have detailed plans for implementation and are committed to following the roadmap. I think there is enough time for the units to implement. However, it must be affirmed that this will not be simple.

According to Decision 53/2012/QD-TTg, from December 1, 2014, E5 bio-fuel will be used for road motor vehicles in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Can Tho, Quang Ngai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau. With E10 gasoline, it will be implemented from December 1, 2016. Then, from December 1, 2015, E5 gasoline will be widely applied nationwide and from December 1, 2017, E10 gasoline will be applied.

- When the above roadmap starts, how will the raw material supply for the factories be ensured?

In the first 6 months of the year, Vietnam exported over 1.2 million tons of dried cassava, while still having to import gasoline and oil. Therefore, there needs to be a solution to process raw materials into products. In addition, we need to do a better job of regulating the raw material market. In fact, there was a time when the traders pushed the price of dried cassava up from 2,000 - 3,000 VND/kg to 5,500 VND/kg in just 2 - 3 months. This made it impossible for any unit to build a safe production roadmap. Therefore, the role of control is very important. If we have good policies, there will be no shortage of raw materials because with 2.3 million tons of cassava exported in 2012, we made about 800,000 tons of 100-degree alcohol, which can be mixed with 8 million tons of E10 gasoline.

The roadmap is available and the products are ready, however, some factories have to temporarily stop production due to many difficulties. So what is the solution to support businesses?
This situation is due to many reasons, including slow domestic consumption. When developing the project, the Government proposed solutions to encourage investment, develop distribution networks, and plan land for raw material production. However, on the one hand, Vietnam has joined the WTO, so it cannot support businesses with state money, and on the other hand, it is very difficult for any project to make a profit in the first year of operation...

In recent times, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has continuously held working sessions to find solutions to support and create conditions for factories to operate at 65% of their designed capacity. However, more efforts are needed for NLSH to develop. In particular, it is necessary to widely propagate so that society understands the economic and social significance of the project, thereby actively supporting the use of this type of fuel.

Thank you!

According to (baocongthuong) - PH