The country has abundant supply of natural gas and converting oil-run vehicles into CNG format would not only be cost-effective but also environment-friendly, they said at a seminar on "The prospects of CNG filling stations and CNG vehicle conversions" at Hotel Agrabad.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC Ltd) in Bangladesh organised the seminar in association with USAID.

Addressing the seminar, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed emphasised the need for enhancement of compressed natural gas (CNG) use for the greater benefit of country.

"We have abundant reserve of natural gas but we are still far behind of taking its advantage," he said.

CCCI chief said, "The more we use the more we will benefit from it because the cost of natural gas is much lower than petrol."

Executive Director of Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) Institute in USA Leo B Thomason presented a keynote paper focusing on the technical aspects of CNG filling stations and CNG conversions.

Thomason said CNG gives clean air and it has lower tailpipe emissions than petrol.

Chief Executive Officer of HSBC in Bangladesh David JH Griffiths, Corporate Banking Head Adil Islam and Development Programme Specialist Sher M Khan also addressed the seminar.