East China's Fujian Province is to substitute gasoline and diesel oil with liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel for 2,000 inter-city buses running on its expressways, to make its public transport greener.

According to a contract signed Thursday between Fujian Investment and Development Group Ltd. and Fujian Expressway LLC, the former will invest 320 million yuan (US$46.85 million) in building 30 gas filling stations to supply 133,000 tonnes of LNG for the 2,000 inter-city buses.

The move will replace 180,000 tonnes of gasoline and diesel a year, the investment and development company said.

Wang Dongping, general manager of Zhongmin Logistics Company under the investment and development company, said Thursday that as a sort of clean energy, liquefied natural gas could help slash motor vehicle's carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and sulphur dioxide emissions by 97 percent, 72 percent, and 90 percent respectively.

The "green" energy could also help reduce vehicle noise by 40 percent, Wang added.

The plan will include substituting diesel fuel with liquefied natural gas for more than 1,000 sand-, coal- and cement-carrying vessels on the waterways in the province and along its coast.

Under a related accord, Fujian will buy 2.6 million tonnes of LNG from Indonesia annually in a 25-year period from 2009 to fuel the plan, the local government said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2009)